


A Phantastic December

by NiniMeggie



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Shopping, Dan Howell Has an Existential Crisis, Domestic Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M, Phanfiction, Romantic Friendship, Winter fun, holiday baking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-08 06:09:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 44,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12858426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NiniMeggie/pseuds/NiniMeggie
Summary: December sure is a busy time of year. It seems like Dan and Phil have a new adventure every day. Somehow they find themselves in a whole host of holiday cliches as the days go by. This is stuff you'd normally do with the love of your life... Is that what these two men were? Both wanted it but neither knew how to go about telling the other.New chapter every day in December!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Chapters will go up every day but at no specific time. It may be the day before or the day after the date says depending on where you live in relation to me.  
> I hope you enjoy 31 days of Phan!

1st December

 

Dan was sat in his office, massive headphones clamped over his ears. He _was_ trying to edit a video, but his phone buzzing from Twitter notifications was slowing him down. Though not as much as that obnoxious banging sound! He didn't know what Phil was up to but this was almost as bad as the constant drilling in their old flat.

_Ignore it._ He thought. _Just ignore it._ Dan really needed to get this video finished and he couldn't afford Phil's antics. But of course that wouldn't last long.

THUNK! Dan took off his headphones in alarm, just in time to hear, "Ouch!" Phil's shout sounded less pained and more frustrated.

Dan rolled his eyes and closed down his computer. "Phil," he called into the hall, "where are you and why are destroying the flat?"

He found Phil on the floor in the lounge, surrounded by bags and boxes that appeared to have been run over by a truck... Or most likely dropped down stairs once or seven times after being pulled out of too small of cabinets. He rubbed his arm where a bruise was already starting to form on his porcelain skin.

Dan tried to use all his spacial skills looking at the scene in front of him to discover how the hell Phil managed to get a bruise on his arm of all places and why that landed him on the floor. He decided satisfying his curiosity about his friend's clumsiness wasn't worth the time or headache. "I know it's cold in here but turning up the heat works better than a box blanket."

"Ha ha," Phil grumbled from the floor. "Well now that you're not editing, maybe you'd like to lend a hand." He opened the nearest box and pulled out a medal rod with dark green plastic needles. "We brought the tree over from the old flat but I can't find more than one box of ornaments. And," he motioned to the bags to his left, "half of our decorations are missing." The sad puppy look Phil managed to pull out whenever he wanted something appeared on his face. Dan was still exasperated but his annoyance melted away. He could never stay mad with a sad Phil.

Dan kneeled down and started shifting through the various containers, taking inventory. He wasn't sure why Phil was so worried about the decorations when the solution seemed simple enough to him. "So let's go buy more. The old ones wouldn't all work in this place anyway."

It took Dan about six seconds to realise he'd been played. Phil shot up, boxes falling to the floor, and exclaimed, "Great idea! I've been looking at what we have all afternoon." He started walking out of the room leaving Dan no choice but to follow. "It shouldn't take us more than a few hours to get everything we need."

Dan was stood in the hall, frozen until that sunk in. "You want to go now?"

In response, Phil tossed Dan's coat at him and slipped his own on as he walked out the door. Dan scrambled to get ready to go out into the cold and made sure he had everything he needed for spontaneous shopping.

Phil dragged Dan all around London looking at various stores and even little tourist shops for decorations. Dan kept a stubborn frown on his face in the Tube but he couldn't help but crack a smile whenever Phil's face lit up more than the Christmas lights was they walked into a likely shop. 

"Look! Look! Look!" Phil ran over to a display of a snowy wonderland around a window. "Dan, we need this!"

Dan fought to keep his expression in check. "We don't even have a window this big," he pointed out, trying to sound annoyed but also reasonable so as not to hurt Phil's feelings.

"No, look!" Phil grasped Dan's hand and pulled him up to the display.

Dan was looking at his fingers intertwined with Phil's, stunned that they were holding hands at all let alone in public. His first thought was that it felt nice, it was cold outside but somehow Phil's hand felt warm in his. It looked nice too, Dan only a few shades darker since he hasn't gotten much sun this past year. But the warm thoughts didn't last long before the panic set in. His heart was racing, unsure whether to pull away or gently let go, or just stay linked like this with his friend for the rest of their shopping.

He was spared from making the decision when suddenly Phil dropped his hand to point at a snowflake on the window. When he glanced up he was shocked to see Phil looking at him expectantly. After a few seconds of awkward eye contact Phil stuck out his lower lip and dropped his eyes. "You think it's stupid."

"No, wh-, I, er," Dan struggled to respond, surprised by the hurt in Phil's voice and knowing that he must have missed something. Phil looked back up at him, waiting. Dan gave himself a little shake. _I'm a twenty six year old man, I should_ not _lose my head because someone held my hand!_ But he had, and now he had to gloss over it with Phil. He shrugged and sighed, "I didn't hear what you said when you brought me over here. Sorry. Lost in my head," he added by way of explanation.

"Oh," a confused look landed on Phil's face but the hurt went away. He studied Dan for a moment, wondering whether or not he should be worried, but decided to let it go. "I was just saying that it's not the whole display for sale. You buy each item and build you own at home." He motioned to the snowflake again. "I think those would be really nice in the background of the gaming videos. And the stick on frost along the edges would be so much easier to decorate the windows than trying to spray fake snow like last time."

Dan gave his approval immediately, showing far more excitement at the prospect of frost window stickers than made sense to Phil but he went with it. Both boys picked apart the display and dug in the bins around it for what they thought they could use. They filled up far more of the trolley than was wise for their first stop, but both were trying to smooth over the awkwardness by being overinterested in winter scenes.

Weighed down with an embarrassingly large quantity of snow flakes, icicles, window frost, and cotton snow when they finished in that shop, they decided to make one more stop for lights and then for a few more ornaments.

It took walking a few streets to find a good place for lights. They needed another strand of lights for the tree and Dan wanted fairy lights for the backgrounds of all their filming spots.

They found a net of lights that would perfectly wrap around their tree, saving them the trouble of winding strings around and untangling them when they inevitably mess up. Yet after several aisles they still couldn't settle on good lights for backgrounds. All the options just seemed wrong somehow.

"How about these ones!" Phil seemed entranced by baby blue and white frosted lights that twinkled on and off at four different speeds.

For the first time today Dan allowed himself to laugh. Phil was just too cute hypnotised by the lights. "You sure they won't distract you from filming?" He joked.

Phil brushed his concerns aside, pulling out several bundles of them from the shelf. "They'll be in the background. Besides, the viewers will love them."

Dan relieved him of a his bags from the other shop so he could hold all the strands without breaking anything. Peering back into the bags of decorations he added, "Good call, Phil. Those lights will go better with the snow ascetic we seem to be building than anything else here." Then he proceeded to roll his eyes as Phil looked overly pleased with himself.

When they went to leave, Phil winced and tried to hide the price from Dan but wasn't fast enough. "Ouch," Dan cringed as well, pulling out his card to pay.

"No no no," Phil reached for his own, "I picked the fancy lights, I'll pay."

Dan inserted his card and picked up the pen to sign. "Not a chance. I'm the one who wanted lights for all the rooms."

Phil grumbled but couldn't stop Dan at that point. He made himself a mental note to buy Dan another Christmas present to make up for it.

When they made it out onto the streets again night had fallen. They had to stop by a bench at a bus stop to rearrange the bags. Somehow they had thirteen between them...

Dan rubbed his temples, trying to dispel the headache coming on. "Aaand we still need ornaments," he lamented, putting four bags on each arm and leaving the rest for Phil. He shrugged his shoulders under the weight and sighed as he looked up and down the street for a place.

A flush of guilt crept up Phil's neck when he saw how tired Dan looked and remembered that he hasn't exactly volunteered to come out today and was probably planning to spend it snug in his office. "Actually," he started, "we don't really need any more ornaments."

"You said you only found one box of them for the tree."

Phil shifted uncomfortably, "Yeah, well, it was a big box..." _sigh_ "We have plenty for the tree."

Dan was so relieved that they could go home that he didn't even bother to be annoyed. He set the bags back down and reached waited as Phil got them a taxi; there was no way they were taking the Tube with all this.

Back in the flat, they deposited their new purchases next to the old ones. It went without saying that the actual decorating would have to wait until tomorrow.

Dan reached his arms up towards the ceiling, closing his eyes and stretching his back out. He eyes flew open when he felt Phil wrap him in a hug bent to lay his head against Dan's chest. "Go relax in the lounge," he ordered as he drew away, "I'm going to order pizza for us."

Dan smiled, doing as Phil said without resistance. "Thank you," he mumbled when Phil set the pizza in front of them and handed Dan a few pills for his headache. Not the way he expected his day to go, but he guessed ending the day with a happy flatmate and a belly full of pizza was a pretty good change of plans.


	2. Chapter 2

2nd December

 

Phil pounced on Dan the second he stumbled into the kitchen. Pressing a cup of hot coffee made exactly to Dan's specifications in one hand and a bowl of cereal into the other, Phil shoved Dan into the little couch area to show his flatmate what he had been working on all morning.

"Good morning, Dan." Dan mumbled sarcastically as he was plopped into a seat on the couch, narrowly avoiding spilling the almond milk from his cereal all over his lap. "How'd you sleep? I hope you're feeling better. I'm sure you'd like to take a nice relaxing morning before doing anything that might aggravate your headache again. Hey!"

Phil had flicked his complaining friend on the forehead before taking a seat on the floor in front of the couch. "I got you breakfast and made you coffee." Phil had to do some maneuvering to lower himself into the one spot not covered in decorations. "I let you sleep in. You're sitting, relaxing on a couch as I explain everything," he pointed out. "I'd say I've been quite considerate."

Dan set down his coffee cup on the edge of the couch, hoping it wouldn't fall. Sinking into his newly created sofa crease, he dug into his cereal as he watched Phil. Vaguely he realised Phil was explaining their plan for the day to get all the decorations set up _just right._ His eyes trailed after Phil's hands. They moved from bag to bag to box, taking out decorations and showing off arrangements that probably meant something but Dan couldn't make himself focus on Phil's words. 

Phil was coming to the end of the decorations and Dan hasn't heard a word that registered in his brain. Eager to avoid a situation like yesterday, he spoke up before Phil could finish. "You don't really expect me to follow all that before I drink my coffee," he said with a light laugh. "Gimme a few minutes to wake up and get some caffeine in my system and you can go through it again."

Phil acquiesced and contented himself to searching his phone for a good Christmas music playlist. He kept stealing glances at Dan while he was looking. If he had it his way they'd start decorating the second Dan was done. They had _so much_ to put up today!

Dan, however, did not seem to share his sense of urgency. He was just sat there, leisurely eating his breakfast and sipping his coffee, watching Phil with a slight smile playing on his lips.

"So," Dan paused mid spoonful, "I think we should start with our filming spots. I do my office and you do your room. Then lunch break and we'll both tackle the gaming studio. Then we definitely need to do the kitchen because we're going to have to do some sort of holiday baking and I'd rather the decorations all go up today. Then dinner; see if we'll burn the house down the way the decorations are up. And finish with this room and the lounge."

Phil was thunderstruck. "Dan! That wasn't the plan at all!" He proceeded to show Dan what he had been explaining earlier. Each section of bags and boxes was pre set out for each room. With all the white, glittery, and snow turned items they bought Phil described the winter wonderland he had in mind for them to transform the apartment into. "We need to work together so we can make sure it all flows together properly."

Dan drained his coffee and stood to take the empty dishes into the kitchen. "Come on," he said as he stepped over boxes, grateful for his long legs or it would have been difficult. "If we combine the two plans it works perfectly." He waited for Phil to agree with him but the other man just followed quietly into the kitchen. Dan continued, "We use the decorations you've already sorted out - thank you, by the way - and do our own rooms first. That way they're not influenced by the rest of the house and the whole thing doesn't look too staged. Because you _know_ our viewers would notice that and spend days picking it apart. I really don't want that to fill up the whole comment section."

For the second time that morning Phil found himself less than happily agreeing, but he supposed he'd earned that after the previous day's impromptu shopping. They spend the rest of their morning in their own spaces. Phil allowed his to fit in nicely with the winter theme he knew would have to go through the main rooms. Dan, on the other hand, took pains to make the blinking lights and snowflakes fit into the ascetic of his office. It was a relief that the decorations were monochromatic because random colorful ornaments would have ruined the atmosphere.

By the time he finished and went back to the kitchen Phil was once again waiting for him with food. This time it was the leftover pizza. As they munched both of them surveyed the kitchen, trying to decide what they could cover in snow that wouldn't be a fire hazard.

Phil broke the quiet once he finished the dishes, "I think we should work in here next."

"Agreed, I'll go get the decorations."

Dan snooped through the bags until he found the group without lights. He grabbed the two bags Phil set aside for the kitchen and wandered back over. The music hit him just as he was stepping into the doorway and he found himself singing along.

" _Sleigh_ _bells ring, are you listening? In the lane..._ " He trailed off when Phil laughed.

"No don't stop!" Phil bit his lower lip to stop from giggling more. "I love it when you sing."

"Let's just get to business," Dan said and tossed one of the bags at Phil before turning his back to him and pulling out snowflake strings to hang on handles.

Phil chewed on his tongue for a few seconds wondering if his comment made Dan uncomfortable. He didn't have to worry long. The song ended and when  "Jingle Bells" started playing he could hear Dan singing it softly.

They finished covering the cabinets in an assortment of snow flakes and icicles. Dan started creating a scene on the fridge of Santa trudging through snow and dropping presents behind him. Meanwhile, Phil was piling fake, fluffy snow on the hood over the stove.

He was stretching out the piles, trying to make it look like a thin coat, but he kept getting his fingers caught in it. "Shiii- Dan! A little help here?" His wrist was trapped in the fluff and it was too tangled to pull it down.

"Phil! You can't put that up there!" Dan slid across the floor to the rescue. "Hold still," he ordered as his hands went to work, trying to free his friend while also not damaging anything. Glitter was falling like snow from the fluff and coating the stove. He managed to get everything unhooked from where Phil was failing to place it. Holding Phil's wrists he lowered their arms to chest level to finish untangling him.

"Finally." After several moments the fluff fell to the floor. Dan kept Phil's hands trapped between his and locked eyes with the man-child he shared his life with. "Repeat after me," he said, moving their hands up and down with each word, "I will not place decorations where they will cause a fire."

Phil mumbled the line back to him along with his thanks.

Dan dropped his hands but patted his arm. "And be more careful, okay?" He waited for Phil's nod and then inclined his own head towards the mess of sparkles. "We need to clean that up before I can cook us dinner."

Phil couldn't complain about that, Dan was by far the better cook between the two. Then he looked around the rest of the kitchen and saw sparkles, glitter, and bits of fluff covering most of the flat surfaces. "Maybe we should finish decorating in here and then clean up."

It didn't take too long to putt up the rest of it, but scrubbing sticky glitter off their counters and floor took the better part of two hours. 

About an hour into the clean up Dan sent Phil to the gaming room to start decorating there. He regretted that decision when he tried to clean the cooking surfaces. It took more elbow grease than Dan had put into anything recently but after a good thirty minutes of scrubbing he pronounced the area, if not clean, then at least free from fire hazards.

Dan rocked from foot to foot, then decided to start dinner and let Phil keep working. He went with a shepherd's pie recipe and started chopping the vegetables. Once the water was ready from the kettle he put the potatoes in the pot to boil.

The sound of Christmas music announced Phil's arrival a little later. "I see you finished cleaning. What," Phil pouted, leaning against the counter to watch Dan scoop the mash onto the vegetable mix, "you didn't want to help me?" He accepted the dish from Dan and stuck it in the oven.

Dan rolled his eyes and placed his hand on Phil's stomach. "Umm, what are you doing?" Phil asked.

Dan moved it around and pressed lightly. "Just as I thought," he said, "you're running on empty." He wiggled his fingers to tickle Phil's belly before drawing pack.

Phil shook his head and turned his music off. "Well, I finished the gaming room. I'm gonna put some anime on in the lounge when the food is done. I'm in the mood for Fairytail." 

Dan agreed, a smile broad on his face as he watched Phil leave the room.


	3. Chapter 3

3rd December

 

Dan could not understand why Phil was so obsessed with doing the decorations together this year. Except for the years they did it on video normally they just put up the decorations individually whenever they were feeling festive. Sometimes it would take half the month to get the flat fully Christmassy. So really, three days into December wasn't _that_ late to put up the tree. As long as they got it up before next weekend when Louise brought Darcy over they would be fine.

He kept this thoughts to himself however as he joined Phil in the lounge after finally finishing editing that video from Friday. The place had transformed since early afternoon when Phil started decorating. It looked like a snowstorm had blown in the windows. Frost clung to the edges of each pane and also creeped out from what appeared to be cracks and breaks in the middle. Icicles of various sizes lines the windowsill. Snow flakes hung from the ceiling, some on clear strings just barely the length of the ornament, others hung so low Dan's head brushed them as he walked into the room, and the rest were somewhere in the middle. The fairy lights that wove between the flakes weren't lit up but Dan knew they were the blinking blue and white ones and would shine off the crystals to illuminate the whole room in flickering light. Glittery snow was piled under the windows and seemed to get thinner as it made its way into the room, lightly coating their coffee table. Scattered throughout the snow were felt snowmen intermixed with various plushies that normally lived in this room, making it look like their toys were having a snowball fight or a snowman building contest.

Across from that scene was their sofa (which thankfully escaped the icy makeover except for having a white blanket draped over the back) and next to it a ring of snow wrapping the base of their naked tree. Next to that sat Phil chewing on his upper lip and frowning at the dark green branches.

Dan broke him out of his musings. "This looks _amazing!_ When you said 'winter wonderland' theme you meant it." He walked over to windows, carefully stepping on the snow to make sure he didn't disrupt the little scenes with the plushies. Tracing he finders lightly over the cracks, he marvelled once again at how real they looked. "How did you do this?"

"Paint," Phil shrugged. "And a YouTube tutorial."

Dan stepped back towards Phil and admired the scene from that angle. He wasn't surprised that there were videos on YouTube for this. He was, however, amazed that one was good enough for Phil to be able to pull this off after just one video. When he turned back around he saw that Phil was once again frowning at the tree. "What? Something wrong with our tree?" Dan felt a little defensive, they've had this tree since moving to London. It's seen a lot. It was part of their life here.

Phil tilted his head to the side. "No... It's just... I'm not sure how to make it fit in with the rest of the decorations." He glanced from the tree to the room. "Do we want it to be pale and sparkling or be a splash of color with the rave tree lights?"

It was clear from Phil's voice he'd been watching those interior design shows again. Dan sensed a total redesign coming soon in the Sims at this rate.

He surveyed the room. "Color."

"Hmm?"

Dan opened the box of ornaments that were sitting on the end of the sofa. For years they'd been using the same cheap ones they bought when they first moved. They had to put them up. "We need the rave tree. It's tradition."

Phil picked up the string of colorful lights they bought Friday. He didn't look convinced.

"Phil, I know it clashes. But it's our tree. It's- it's..."

"A reminder of our crappy old flat?" Phil supplied.

Dan grabbed onto that. "Yeah. The flat was crap but we were there for _years._ I like the reminders sometimes." He took the lights from Phil and wrapped them around the tree. Phil flicked the switch to turn them on and waited for Dan to give his opinion. The blues and reds flashed off his teeth when he smiled. "Come on, Phil." He turned Phil to look at the effect of the lights in the sparkling white of the rest of the room. "You know it wouldn't be _us_ if it actually looked perfect."

Phil laughed and tossed his head. "Okay, you win," he said, switching the lights back off. "Rave over. Now it's time to get the ornaments up and the flat will be complete."

Ornament by ornament they over-decorated the tree until the box was empty. Almost every little branch had some bauble on it. The only thing they left off was the topper. Phil suggested they leave both options, the star and the angel, on the snow under the tree. It would be fun for Darcy when she came to make the choice.

Phil gathered up the empty bags and boxes to put them back in the cabinets. Dan went to their rooms and brought back their laptops. They sat at opposite ends of the sofa, their legs overlapping in the middle. With the flat _finally_ fully decorated they could both relax for a while.


	4. Chapter 4

4th December

 

"Dan! Post is here," Phil called into the flat. The postman knocked because in addition to their standard post was a large, padded envelope.

"What ya got there?" Dan asked, popping his head out into the hall and seeing Phil with the package.

Phil shrugged and they walked into their small sitting room. "It's from the same company who do our calendar photo shoots," he observed.

"Hmm," Dan plucked it out of Phil's hand and struggled to tear it open since the glue would not give.

Phil snatched it back. "Dan! You're gonna tear whatever's in there!" He went into the kitchen to grab scissors and cut the package open properly. Inside was a thick stack of pictures. "They're prints of our bloopers from the calendar photos."

He went back to the sofa and sat down next to Dan to show him. Dan used getting a better view of the pictures as an excuse to scoot flush against Phil. They flipped photo by photo, cooing at the adorable dogs and poking fun at each other for their awkward poses or facial expressions. 

After a few minutes Dan let his head drop on Phil's shoulder. "We make cute dog parents." Even though he couldn't see it, he could tell Phil was smiling. 

Dan had to suppress a shiver of delight when Phil pressed the side of his head against Dan's, leaving no space between them. "Yes we do," he agreed. "I still say we should get a puppy."

Dan chuckled and motioned with his hand for Phil to keep flipping through the pictures. After a few more he allowed himself to mumble, "Maybe in a few years we'll buy our own place and we can get one."

If Phil heard the implication, he let it go. Instead he launched them into an argument over which kind of dog would be the best. That led to name calling and throwing of pictures and more than a few paper cuts. They never did come to a consensus.

"So what are we going to do with these?" Phil asked once they settled back down. "They're funny but we really don't need them. There have to be about sixty here!"

But Dan had already solved that problem. "We make Christmas cards out of them," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?"

Dan slowed his voice down and put on a slightly mocking tone, still bitter after the argument. "We write little notes of the back of them and send them out as Christmas cards," he explained.

Phil's eyebrows shot up, "One: that's a lot of work. Two: that's a lot of money for stamps. And three: I hate to burst you bubble, but we don't have that many friends."

Dan laughed and thumped Phil with the stack of photos. "Not for our _friends!_ For the _fans!_ We'll add them in as little bonuses to random merch orders. That saves us the postage too," he joked. "But yes Phil, I am suggesting we do some actual work. It'll make some viewers happy. A nice surprise, they deserve it for supporting us."

Phil's face lit up but he still had to ask, "How's the going to work?"

Dan went on to explain they'd just call their merch company and ask for a list of names for orders that hadn't been sent out yet and have them hold those orders for a day or two for the cards to arrive. That way the cards can be personalized. It shouldn't put more than a day's delay in the shipment so hopefully no one will have an issue with it.

"Okay," Phil said. "Well, you call and get that all set up because I don't really understand it." He grabbed the pictures. "I'll gather up some crafting supplies. We can meet back in the lounge and work there."

It took longer than Dan anticipated to get everything set up. By the time he arrived in the lounge with his list of lucky names, along with what each person bought, he saw Phil had started without him.

"What the heck have you put together here?" 

Strewn across the table were the pictures, all face down with the blank white back showing. Well, the back _had_ been blank. Now each and every one of them had a wavy line drawn across the middle about halfway down the card in what appeared to be silver Sharpie. The top half was bordered in a thin strip of white glitter and inside the glitter was a string of hand drawn silver snowflakes. The effect was pretty and wintery but it shrunk the top section by about a third. At the bottom right corner of what space was left up top the name "Phil" was signed on each card. Phil had definitely given himself a head start on the cards.

His forehead and left cheek glimmered with white sparkles as his head shot up to look at Dan. "This is strangely therapeutic," he sighed and rubbed his neck, no doubt depositing more glitter there. "I thought we could both write a note on each one. What do you think of them?"

"I, uh-" Dan staggered, not sure which emotion should be given in response. He settled on a bit of indignation to start. "I see you claimed the top part for yourself. On. All. Of. Them _."_ He accented each word, giving Phil the evil eye. Then he softened up. "They're really nice though. Very seasonal," he chuckled and sat down across from Phil. "But I thought we agreed each one would be personalized. They're all the same."

"For now!" Phil exclaimed. "I was just setting up a snowy border for them since most of the pictures aren't really Christmassy. I'll make the actual note on each of them personal."

Dan handed the list of names and purchases over to Phil. He suggested Phil start by just going down the list, writing notes. "I'll be slower than you are because I still have to decorate my part so just make a stack next to me when you finish them."

Phil nodded, "I'll try to keep them in order for you."

As Phil started writing the name for the first card Dan dove into the box of crafts. Phil made his half snowy and sparkly. It looked like an extension of the decorations that surrounded them in the lounge. Then Dan's eyes fell on their tree; bright lights and vibrant colours. He knew it would clash with Phil's notes but he decided to write his letters changing colour every sentence. The edges he decorated in trees and candy canes.

It took them late into the night to finish all sixty of them. They knew their fan base was quite diverse so they made sure their cards just said "Happy Holidays" though Dan's bit of decorating definitely leaned towards Christmas. By the time Dan signed his last card and Phil cleaned up the rest of the supplies their hands were cramping. Phil's hands were silver and glittering. Dan's, in contrast, appeared polka dotted with the rainbow.

They used the kitchen sink to wash up. Dan's hands washed clean quickly, leaving mud coloured water running down the drain. He was drying them off when he heard Phil complain, "I can't get the glitter off!"

Dan came over, confused. "The permanent marker came off but not the glitter?" He looked in the sink and sure enough; the silver had faded so much it almost blended in with Phil's skin, but the white glitter still sparkled stubbornly.

With a sigh that said this was the most arduous thing he'd done all day Dan reaching into the sink with a cloth and started scrubbing Phil's hands. At first he was scrubbing so hard his friend winced and reflexively pulled his hands back. 

"I'm sorry," Dan apologized softly. He held his hands open and Phil hesitantly placed his back in them. Gently Dan turned Phil's hands rubbing off a few sparkles at a time as the water washed them off the cloth. It took much longer this way, but that meant Dan had an excuse to hold Phil's hands for a while. "Okay," Dan finally released Phil's hands and turned the water off. "I think that's all of it. Let's make a deal to stop with the crafty stuff for a while, all right?"

"Thank you and deal." Phil pulled out his phone to check the time and got a glimpse of his face. He groaned, "You didn't tell me it was all over my face!"

Dan laughed and pulled up his selfie camera to show Phil that the glitter was also on this neck and in his hair.

Phil cupped his face in his hands, effectively ruining the job Dan had just done. "I'm gonna need a shower to get all this off." He nudged Dan, "Too bad you can't help me with that." Then turned and left without a backwards glance.

Dan was stood shocked in the kitchen. _Did he really hear what he thought he heard?_ It took the sound of Phil's shower running to shake Dan out of it. He wished he had the nerve to challenge Phil's joke.

But he didn't.

Not that night at least.


	5. Chapter 5

5th December

 

Tuesday passed in a bit of a blur for Dan. He was still unsteady after Phil's joke the previous night. He debated cancelling his live show but couldn't do it. After working so hard the day before to make just a few fans happy he figured it was only fair to give an hour to the rest of them. He trudged through the stream, ignoring the comments that he seemed off. As always when those comments appeared, he knew if he drew attention to it it would just make people more insistent.

He didn't blame them for asking, he knew they cared about him. That made him feel worse to think about. Because if they noticed, why hadn't Phil? Or had he noticed and just not said anything? Dan didn't know, and wasn't sure he wanted to.

He ended the live show exactly after an hour. He had hoped it would make him feel better, or at the very least make him tired enough to be able to sleep soon. But no such luck.

As he left his bedroom to go to the kitchen, Dan pondered ways to lift his mood. He poured himself a rather large glass of wine. Kind of a sad choice but it was just hanging out after the last internet support group video. Besides, he had come up with a way to shake himself out of this weird mood. But it involved Phil, of course. Dan downed the drink to steel himself with a bit of liquid courage before going to ask Phil. He felt silly having to go through all these nerves just to talk to his best friend.

"Hey," Dan said when he ducked his head into Phil's room, "you busy?"

Phil moved away from his computer and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "Nah, I just finished uploading the new Mario Kart video so I was reading some comments." He stood up and stretched out his spine after crouching at a computer for hours. "Why?"

Dan shrugged, trying to stay casual but really hoping Phil wasn't too tired to agree. "Well, speaking of gaming videos, I wondered if you would be up for filming the Sims Christmas video."

Phil smiled like Christmas had come early in real life, not just in a game. "Yes!" Then he looked down at himself and added, "But we should change first. Gotta have Christmas jumpers!"

Dan laughed, his nervous energy flowing out of him. Phil's happy, and they get to go give the Howlters their first family Christmas. Both of them changed into their most festive clothes, since they knew the video would be going up on Christmas day.

When Phil arrived in the gaming room, just the sight of him had Dan falling off his chair with laughter. Phil didn't stop at just his elf jumper, he had full green pants and a hat complete with ears. The last of which was causing his glasses to perch further down his nose, perpetually looking like they were going to fall off.

Dan felt underdressed by comparison. His jeans didn't matter as no one would see them, but up too he was just wearing a grey jumper with rows of presents across it. Phil dropped down in the chair next to him and plopped a Santa hat on his head.

Did he look as good as Phil? No.

Did it even match? No.

But did it look better for Christmas than it did without it? Questionable.

Well, they knew what their opening jokes and comments were going to be about! Phil turned the camera on and let his reactions flow naturally. He looked like an elf and Dan was the lazy man's version of Santa. He could hear the comments and fanfics about that already.

They ran out of quips for each other long before the Sims was ready to go. Of course it didn't want to load at first so the had to restart it. And then, naturally, it decided it needed to update. 

After a solid five minutes of sitting there, staring at the screen, Dan threw his hands in the air. "That's it," he groaned, "I need another drink. You want some?" he offered to Phil as he stood up.

"Wait, _another_ drink?" Phil asked, his eyebrows rising.

Dad tried to shrug off Phil's concern. "Yeah, I had a glass of wine after my live show." His friend's eyebrows looked like they were going to escape but he said nothing. "So," Dan continued, "would you like a drink?"

Phil rocked his head from side to side in indicicion before shaking it. "No, I can't drink on camera."

Dan winked, "I'll disguise it for you," and darted out of the room.

Looking around the kitchen Dan landed on hot chocolate being the perfect way to have a drink on camera with no one questioning it. It's Christmas. It's cold. Who doesn't want hot cocoa?

Thankfully that had drinks that would go with that. Normally there wasn't much alcohol in the flat but this time of year people loved to give it as gifts and it was pretty cheap at the store.

He poured almond milk in a pan and put it on to heat. Before it had a chance to get too warm he whisked in cocoa powder and sugar, forgetting how you're supposed to make hot chocolate from scratch. They had dark chocolate chips in the cabinet so he added some of those as well. Right before the milk was ready to boil Dan splashed in about half a mug's worth of almond milk Bailey's. Then he carefully poured the drink into two oversized mugs. He blew on one and took a sip. _Not strong enough._ He decided to add a shot or so of Jamison to each. _Perfect._

When he made it back, Phil had just opened the game and they were greeted with Tabitha covered in filth and about to die from her own stench. Dan slipped the "hot chocolate" into Phil's hand and directed his attention to fixing up their dysfunctional family before they could start the festivities.

"What should we do with them?" Phil asked him while addressing the camera.

"Hmm," Dan pretended to ponder before rolling his eyes and gently hitting Phil on the arm. "We decorate, you spoon."

Phil complained that was too obvious, he had meant what after that. As Dan was answering something about having a little party with the Pancakes Phil took a large gulp of his drink. His eyes popped and his mouth shot open once he swallowed. Clearly he wasn't expecting the alcoholic bite that strong but with a side glance at the camera he covered well. "How is it so hot?" He exclaimed, "The mug is cold! Why didn't you warn me?" He shot Dan an accusing glare.

Dan just smirked and kept adding strings of lights and snowflakes to the house. "It's called _hot_ chocolate, Phil. I thought you knew what you were getting into."

"I thought I did too," he grumbled under his breathe. Something in his tone made Dan wonder if he was talking about the alcohol or something else. He refrained from physically shaking himself on camera but he really hated feeling so insecure. Then Phil's voice broke him out of it. "Dan! You're going to bankrupt them!"

His head snapped up to the screen and he saw what Phil meant. Every single spot of wall was covered. Dan cringed and put in the final decoration, the tree. Forty-three simolians... That's all he left them with. Oops.

"It's okay! It's fine. It's fine." Dan waved his hands in the air, giving Phil control of the game. He winked at Phil when he took a drink like _I meant to do that._ Or more likely _Eh they're broke, but I made a great drink._ "We can always sell it off after Christmas," he reminded them.

Phil moved on. "Well, now that it looks like Santa's workshop exploded in their house, can we invite the Pancakes over?"

The first thing they did once the guests were over was the transformation of the day. Dan visibly deflated when the box they zapped turned into a stack of shirts they couldn't even interact with. But Phil, after shooting back another long swig of cocoa, pointed out that it could be their present to Eliza. That sparked the idea of transforming random items to create everyone's presents. Tabitha got a picture frame which would go nicely in their bedroom when the decorations were gone. Dil's turned into a _My Sims_ figure, he just couldn't get away from those. Bob got a new microwave. Running out of things to transform Dan pointed to the decorations to get the presents for the children. For Evan; a shiny new chair! Perfect for a child. For Dab; a guitar! ("His new hobby!" Phil laughed after another drink.) And last but not least, for Dalien: a toy rocket! ("They know!" Dan yelled zooming in on the Pancakes, despite the fact Dalien was in disguise.)

From there they moved on to a cheap Christmas dinner. "It wouldn't have to be cheap if it wasn't for those decorations!" Phil nudged Dan.

"Hey," Dan complained. "Look, this is better. See, Bob's helping... Wait? Can Bob cook?"

It didn't end up being the great family Christmas Dan had planned, but hey, at least no one died when Bob set the house on fire. While the adults were freaking out the kids were playing outside. Dab and Evan perfectly playing the part of elder sibling and friend to poor little Dalien. He got so upset with being ignored, his social bar dropped dangerously low and the toddler went into a tantrum.

"Don't worry, Dalien," Phil cried, clicking on Tabitha and making her go sooth him, "Mummy's coming!"

"Wouldn't Dil be 'mummy' since he gave birth?" Dan asked, once again puzzled by the weirdness that was the Howlter family.

"No, no," Phil assured him as Tabitha lifted the toddler into the no longer burning house. "Dan's definitely the daddy.  Giving birth doesn't make you a mum."

Dan left that logic alone and simply focused on ending the visit without any more disasters. They ended the video as soon as the Pancakes left because the whole family fell asleep. Even Dalien, though he was asleep on a bench next to the rocket ship outside.

"Is it our turn to sleep yet?" Phil motioned to the display on the computer. It was half one in the morning.

Dan just nodded, the alcohol making him sleepy on top of the long day. He stood up and held a hand down for Phil. Even with Dan as an anchor, he staggered.

"Seriously, how much alcohol was in that?"

Dan tried to remember. "About three maybe four shots in each."

Phil groaned and leaned on Dan for support ad they walked out of the room. "I'm gonna have a headache in the morning."

"Oh, come on," Dan said, wrapping his arm around his friend and leading him to his bedroom. "You've had more without problem."

"Yeah, yeah," Phil said. "Tuck me in?"

Dan laughed and asked Phil if he was a little kid. When Phil started acting like one Dan led him to bed, threw pyjamas at him to get those ridiculous elf clothes off and waited. When Phil was changed he tucked him into bed. "Good night, little Philly," he said and without thinking he kissed Phil on the forehead before backing out of the room and shutting the light off.

After a pause that was almost too long came a "Good night, Dan."


	6. Chapter 6

6th December

 

Phil woke up groggier than he had felt since his last sleepless night video. Rolling over he found himself smiling at his bedside table. Sitting there was a large glass of water with two little pills next to it. Phil took several gulps of water, knowing he needed to hydrate. He didn't exactly have a hangover so he set the pills aside, but he appreciated the sentiment. He really was lucky to have Dan around. 

On his way to the kitchen for breakfast he stopped in Dan's office and said a quick thanks. With cereal in hand Phil went to the gaming room. He figured a pretty good way to pay Dan back would be to edit some of the gamemas videos he'd been neglecting.

Two videos in, Dan showed up with lunch and sat down to help. The going was slower with Dan there but much more thorough. He had to be one of the most meticulous editors especially critical of the gaming videos. But that's what Phil got for living with a perfectionist.

A little while later both of their phones pinged simultaneously. They looked at each other in confusion. "That was an email," Phil assumed from the sound.

Dan dug his phone out of his jeans. "It's from YouTube," he mumbled as he waited for it to open and then to read through it. "Oh, it's a Christmas party. The Friday before Christmas," he announced, simply handing his phone to Phil so he wouldn't have to grab his own.

Phil scanned through the list of people receiving the email. "Should be alright," he decided, many of their friends would be there even if they weren't fans of everyone. He handed Dan's phone back and asked, "What d'you think?"

"I think," Dan rescanned the email, "that we need to go shopping." Phil's confused look told Dan he hadn't caught it on the first read either. "It's ugly jumper themed."

Phil visibly deflated causing Dan some concern. "What's wrong? I thought you liked ugly Christmas jumpers" He tried to joke. "You could always just wear that elf one again."

"Ha ha," Phil said humourlessly. "No, I just meant I'm kind of tired of having to be crafty."

It took Dan a second before he remembered what Phil was on about. The last party like this they'd gone to had turned into a bit of a contest and almost everyone created their _own_ ugly jumpers. It had been fun but this year they'd been decorating all week.

"Yeah..." Dan deliberated for a minute. He shrugged and nudged Phil. "I'm all for being lazy and just buying one this year if you are."

Phil sighed in relief and smiled. "Sounds good to me." He settled back into his chair. "Let's finish this video and then we can head out."

Throughout the next hour they continuously goaded each other about their future purposes. Phil bemoaned the fact that _every_ jumper looked good on Dan. Dan laughed until Phil pointed out he could even pull off one that looked more at place surrounded by potato sacks than clothes. That was a _little_ personal.

By the time they finished the video they were rearing to go. Dan rushed to grab them both coats and they bolted downstairs and out the door... 

Right into an onslaught of freezing rain.

"Shit!" Dan exclaimed, pulling Phil back into the doorway with him. They could hardly make out the other side of their street with how persistent the downpour was. Dan looked up the weather and saw it showed no sign of relenting at any point that afternoon. Or night for that matter.

"Well, so much for shopping," Phil sighed as they admitted defeat and retreated back into the warmth of their flat.

"Oh we can still shop," Dan said. He walking into the lounge, grabbed his laptop, and settled into his sofa crease. "Just like real millenials."

Phil chuckled as he saw Dan pull up eBay. He slid onto the sofa and snuggled up next to Dan to have a good view of the _very_ ugly jumpers that were showing up. "Okay," Phil admitted, "I was thinking going more for a cute ugly." He pointed to one of the tops on the screen,  nauseating mixture of green, yellow, and red thread on a brown jumper. "That actually looks like vomit," he pointed out.

Dan gagged because it really did look terrible. He scrolled down a bit and then minimised the page. "I have an idea."

Phil tilted his head and scooted away a bit so he could look at Dan better. "Oh yeah?"

"Why don't we buy each other's jumper. It'll be a surprise!"

Phil raised an eyebrow at him. "Meaning you just saw the perfect jumper for me so instead of just showing me you're gonna make me find you one." It wasn't a question.

"Yup!" Dan jumped up. He handed Phil his sticker encrusted computer from the table and clutched his own to his chest. As he slipped out of the room he called over his shoulder, "Happy hunting!"


	7. Chapter 7

 

7th December

 

Dan woke up late the next morning, the storm still raging outside. "This isn't natural," he grumbled to himself. He slipped on some pyjama bottoms and went to the window to look out. Down on the street he could see the rain splashing up almost to the knees of people walking by it was coming down so hard.

He pulled out his phone to look at a weather report. Seeing a forecast of rain through to late afternoon made him groan. Seeing his phone was only on four percent made him groan even more. He had forgotten to charge it before falling asleep last night. He pulled his charger out from its hiding place under the bed and plugged his phone in before going to shower.

His dreams had been weird and confusing last night, heavy with a sense of loneliness. They had faded too fast for him to be able to think them through. He was hoping a nice hot shower would help wash the feeling out of his mind.

He stripped and turned the water on, giving it a moment to heat up. "Damn it," he said to himself, annoyed that he didn't have his phone to play music. Too lazy to go back to his room and get it he sighed and hopped into the shower without external noise.

After a few minutes he began to realise maybe having extra time to think wasn't the best idea. Wings of thoughts beat at the edges of his mind as he decided he should hurry things up. His body however was feeling mutinous. His back was enjoying the pounding of hot water after sleeping in a weird position all night and was in no rush to go out into the cool air of the rest of the flat.

The universe decided to side with Dan's mind. It has the perfect way to get him out of the shower. Though Dan didn't really see it as a favour.

Just as Dan leaned back and closed his eyes to rinse the shampoo out of his hair, it happened. He noticed something was wrong immediately but didn't know what. A muffled noise came from somewhere out in the flat. He ran a hand over his hair to push the excess water out before looking back forward and opening his eyes... Only there was nothing to see.

Black. Everything was completely pitch.

Dan just stood there for a moment, water still running over him, trying to process. He turned the water off and groped in the darkness for his towel. "Phil!" he called.

He heard a muffled bang sound followed by, "Hang on, power's out."

"Oh really?" He called, "I hadn't noticed at all. What with being enclosed in a tiny room with no windows and all." His voice dripped acid, even though he knew this wasn't Phil's fault at all.

Phil reached the door and turned the handle. The door opened minutely before he stopped and stammered, "S-sorry! I'm right here." 

"Well open the damned door, you won't hit me."

"Sorry," Phil said as the door slid open. "I figured you weren't dressed."

Dan rolled his eyes even though Phil couldn't see. "I'm in a towel. I don't see why it matters," he added as he walked out to the hall which was marginally lighter. "For one thing we can hardly see anyway. And for another, it's not like you haven't seen me in less." 

Dan reached into his room and used the torch on his phone to get them back to the lounge where Phil was. With the rain outside and the fake frost obscuring the windows even this most well lit room was dark grey.

Phil grabbed his phone to see if he could figure out what was going on. Meanwhile Dan, following the orders of his hungry belly, used his phone to light up the kitchen. He grabbed a bag of crisps and returned to Phil's side.

"Crisps for breakfast?" Phil judged when he heard Dan munching.

"What?" Dan asked defensively. "I'm hungry and the power's out."

Phil shrugged. A minute later he collapsed to the sofa with a sigh. "And it will be out for a while. Looks like most of London just lost power thanks to the storm."

"Shit." The boys agreed on that sentiment.

"Aaand my phone's about to die," Phil added to the joyful mood.

Dan barked a laugh. "Mine's on six percent. And I don't think my laptop is charged either."

He had next to Phil miserably and offered him the crisps. They sat munching in the dark, otherwise quiet room trying to think of what to do without the internet or even lights for that matter.

"We should probably light some of the candles in the cupboard" Phil suggested reasonably.

Dan agreed. They chose about three candles each and lit them. Placing them around the table both were pleasantly surprised by how much light just a handful of tiny flames gave off. What they hadn't thought of was the scents. All of them were different and the result was an assault to the senses. Regardless, they sat on the floor watching the flames like a pair of pyromanics for several minutes.

Finally, Phil broke the silence. "Wanna play a game?"

Dan raised a brow. "What game?"

"Well," Phil nodded to the shelves to the side of the room. They were stacked high with board and card games. "We only have about thirty in this room alone."

"Hmm." Dan went over to take a look. He debated grabbing their game they released but it really didn't work with only two. Neither did most of the games honestly. That's why there was a this film of dust covering the boxes. "How long do you think we'll be powerless?" He asked Phil over his shoulder.

Phil hesitated, not liking the answer. "A few hours at least."

That made Dan's decision easy. He grabbed a Game of Thrones themed Monopoly and returned to Phil. "This should last us."

Phil braced himself. Dan was _competitive_ when it came to games but especially with Monopoly. "We're going to need some drinks and snacks."

They took a candle each and raided the kitchen for available munchies. Dan also got them each a large glass of water to counter all the salt.

Well prepared for the long haul game one began. Phil rolled a two. Dan smiled evily... Then rolled a one. "Ha!" Phil grabbed the dice and started the game.

About an hour in they reached a stagnant period for another half hour or so. With all but one property bought (somehow no one landed on that poor spot all game) they were on even ground. Then Dan got struck with bad luck. Three rolls in a row he landed on Phil's most heavily upgraded spaces she Phil avoided his. After that it only took one more turn around the board before Phil was rich and Dan completely bankrupt.

He chucked the dice at Phil in defeat. Then shivered violently when he settled back down. That sight was enough to make Phil wrap his arms around his chest as well. Intent on their game, it escaped both their notice how cold it was getting.

Dan realised the cause about a second before Phil. "The heat's electric."

"So it's out too," Phil added.

Dan shivered again. "If I get us blankets will you agree to a rematch?"

Phil pretended to be annoyed but he agreed in the end. It was nice to spend this much time with Dan. Yes, they lived together, but normally they spent much of the day in their own space. He took Dan's absence to (carefully in the dark) use the toilet and then get them snack and drink refills.

Dan reset the board. He switched his character but Phil kept his for luck. Swaddled in blankets, round two started. Dan got first roll since he lost the first game.

Hours later, the game ended on a stalemate. Night fell faster and with more force when there was no electricity to keep the darkness at bay.

Though he had only been up for maybe eight or nine hours, Dan was yawning. Phil felt downright exhausted.

They blew out all but two candles and left the game on the floor to continue tomorrow. Each man stood with a candle in one hand and the other clutching a banker around them. It was going to be a long, cold night.

Unless...

"Cuddle night?" Phil suggested. They hadn't had one in years but quite often they would share a bed towards the beginning of their friendship back in Manchester.

"Cuddle night," Dan confirmed.

They chose Dan's room as it had the comfier bed. They set the candles and lighter on the bedside table and blew out the flame. Into bed they crawled. Dan cuddled up behind Phil and wrapped his arms around him. "Goodnight," he whispered.

"Goodnight." Phil snuggled back against Dan. He could feel Dan's breath in his air as Dan began drifting off.

Both the men pretended they didn't see the lights flicker on in the neighbours house through the windows. If they didn't acknowledge it, it wasn't real.


	8. Chapter 8

8th December

 

"Really, brain? Now?" Dan moaned as he set his phone down and stretched out on the bed while the thoughts flooded his mind.

_Why do people only care about charities when it gets them on the "nice list" before Christmas?_

_How do we know if we're doing the right thing?_

_You're gonna die and then it's all over._ _What's the point?_

He should have expected it. Such a happy time of year, of course his brain was going to assault him with unanswerable questions about the futility of life and the inevitability of death. He joked about it a lot after the fact but in the moment it was crippling. Question after question after random observation kept coming to his head as he tried to lay still and calm himself. 

_Are you sure your mom made it back safe from the doctor's? She texted you when she left but never said she got home._

_What if everyone was lying about liking Truth Bombs and it's all pitty purchases?_

_Why did so many people dislike your last video? You know you don't have that many trolls. You did something wrong._

_Did Phil mean what you meant when you cuddled last night?_

_What if he didn't?_

_What if he did?_

Dan squeezed his eyes shut as if that would turn off the voices. His hands closed into fists around his duvet, seeking something to keep him connected to reality. Despite his best efforts, his breathing was becoming haggard.

_What if you died tomorrow? Was that last tweet really what you want to be the last thing you tell the world?_

_Sure, spend days decorating for Christmas and buying presents. How do you know you'll both even make it to Christmas?_

_What if Phil gets sick or falls and cracks his head while you're asleep? What if he dies and leaves you on your own?_

At that last set of questions a sob escaped him as he flopped out of bed and landed hard on the floor. The pain added a whole new level of questions to the assault but wasn't quite enough to snap him out of it.

He had instinctively curled up next to the bed to protect himself. It took a series of deep though somewhat shakey breaths to get enough control of his limbs back to lay flat out on his stomach. Somehow the resistance of the floor against his chest as he tried to breathe always helped him stay calm during these fits. His bedroom floor would do, but he missed his hallway.

Tears came to the corners of his eyes and dripped soundlessly to the floor. His breathing caused his body to convulse as he submitted to the voices. He tried to let the questions come to his mind and leave again without acknowledging them.

Dan didn't know how long he laid there, but eventually the voices quieted. Left behind was the feeling of helplessness. Of worthlessness. And he knew he had to start the arduous process of putting himself back together.

He could do it by himself. He had before, he surely would have to again at some point. But the going was faster, easier, more efficient when he just had a little help. _But what if he was rejected? What if Phil didn't come? What if he didn't care?_

That thought was almost paralyzing. Almost. But his trust in Phil was stronger; he just hoped it wasn't misplaced or he many never crawl himself out of this hole.

After a few false starts he finally managed an audible call of, "Phil?" He couldn't even hold his breath without a silent sob shaking him.

Dan's voice reached Phil through his mindless browsing of Twitter. His heart sank. He knew that tone, and he hated nothing more than knowing that he let Dan get that low without noticing.

Less than a minute later he was kneeling by Dan's side. "I'm right here," he said softly. "How can I help you?" He always asked. He knew from experience if he tried to move too fast to get Dan out of this he just ended up making it worse.

"I don't know," Dan's voice was oddly calm but it rang hollow.

Phil nodded, that was the usual response. "Can I help you sit up?"

Dan's shudder was more of an answer than any words he could have said.

"Okay, no touching," Phil promised. He paused for a moment until Dan's breathing calmed a bit. Then in a clear, string voice he said, "Dan, sit up."

Without hesitation Dan began to move. He scrunched up and spun himself around. Then he pulled himself into sitting position and slouched against the side of the bed. Direct commands like that seemed to reach him when he was like this, but it made Phil feel awful to order his friend around.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Phil asked. Sometimes Dan liked to work through his waterfall of thoughts. It was as if unloading them on Phil took them out of his own head. But today he just shook his head. Phil always wondered what it was that caused his attacks when he wouldn't talk. But he only ever asked once. If Dan wanted to tell him, he would have.

"Okay," Phil moved on to his next strategy. He normally only employed this one when Dan wasn't in control. As he was struggling to keep his breaths from shaking, Phil figured it was a good time. "When you're ready we're going to try something to calm you down."

Eyes closed, Dan shook his head. Not in response to what Phil said, just in an attempt to clear it. On some level he knew Phil was trying to help. But his mere presence was a double edged sword of calming and panic enducing. The longer he waited though the harder it would be. Eyes still closed, he nodded.

Phil spoke slowly, but in a tone that left no room for argument, "Focus in on your hearing and name me at least three things you can hear. You can keep your eyes closed if it makes you feel better."

Dan sat in silence for a moment then quietly gave his list. "Your breathing, the heat, and my heart."

"Okay," Phil said calmly though he wasn't too encouraged by Dan's answers. The point of this activity was to ground him to his surrounding, get him out of his head. But if he was focusing on his heartbeat, well, Phil didn't know what that meant. He decided to just move to the next step. "Now tell me three things you can reach out and touch."

He watched Dan's hands probe his surroundings. "The duvet," he said as his left hand scrunched up the edge of it. "You," he added as his right hand trailed Phil's waist. "The carpet," he concluded, letting his hands come to rest on either side of him, fingers digging into the fibres.

"Good, good." Phil moved to the final step without pause. "Now I need you to open your eyes and without moving your head tell me three things you can see."

Dan opened his eyes and blinked in the darkness as if unsure they were really open. Phil hasn't bothered to turn on a light when he came in so the room was cloaked in night's shadows. "The wall," he said after a moment. Then he said nothing else.

"And..." Phil prompted.

"That's it! I don't know, I see the wall." A note of hysteria creeped into his voice.

Phil fought to keep his own calm. "Dan, take a breath, look again, and name me three things."

Desperate to not disappoint Phil again, Dan tried. It took him a few minutes to process. "The wall," he repeated, "the door, and the canvas Wirrow painted."

"Okay. We're done with that. Now tell me how you're feeling. Scale of one to ten."

"Four."

Phil was okay with that. One was perfect, ten was total meltdown. He estimated Dan was at a seven when he called for him and was probably higher before that. "What can we do to make it a three?" he asked. Three was a safe level to let Dan go to sleep alone without relapsing.

Dan's voice was soft, "Can you just sit with me for a little while? I need a few minutes."

"Of course."

The silence stretched and thankfully it was comfortable. Dan took a few moments to collect himself. He matched his breathing with Phil's and kept in sync until he was sure he was calm. "Three," he announced.

His legs were wobbly as he made himself stand up. "I'm sorry I put you through that," he couldn't even look at Phil.

"Don't." Phil kept his voice calm though he wanted to scream and get this message through Dan's thick skull. "Don't ever apologise for something you can't control."

Phil stood as well and held his arms open in invitation and smiled in relief when Dan allowed himself to be wrapped in them, burrowing into Phil's chest. "I'm always here for you," Phil reminded him as he rubbed his back and stroked his hair. "Whatever you need. Whenever you need it." He pulled out of the hug slightly to touch foreheads with Dan, making it impossible for his friend to avoid eye contact. "Please remember that."

Dan gave Phil a final squeeze and broke the hug to sit back on his bed, exhausted. "I know. And thank you, so much. I- I can't even tell you how much that means."

Phil had a sad smile on his face when they said their goodnights. He wished there was something he could do to make it clear to Dan that he didn't have to wait until the pain was crippling before calling Phil. He didn't realise that Dan needed to try to handle it himself, that he couldn't let himself always rely on Phil.

They may not have been on the same page with this issue but that night they both went to sleep thinking of their best friend a room away.


	9. Chapter 9

9th December

 

"Hey, Dan." Phil yawned and stretched when they finished the live show for the gaming channel. Dan looked at him expectantly. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes!" He curled up in his chair, holding his abdomen. "My stomach has been growling for the last hour!"

Phil stood and held out a hand to help Dan up. "How do you feel about going out to eat?"

"Where were you thinking?" As much as he didn't feel like cooking, Dan also wasn't sure going out was worth the effort.

Phil shrugged. He hadn't really had anywhere in mind. "Maybe the new cafe down the block?"

They agreed to that. When they headed out the air was clear, but that didn't last. They hadn't made it half a block before the sky opened up. Dan bolted sideways, pulling Phil after him into the doorway of a pub.

Phil let the warmth wash over him as he stepped into the building behind Dan. Water flung in his face as Dan shook the freezing rain out if his hair while cursing the weather caused Phil to exhale a puff of air into the back of his friend's head. This wasn't their intended destination but the cafe Phil wanted them to go to had a line out the door.

A hostess waited patiently for them to shake off the water. "At this rate this rain'll cause another power outage," she said. Dan and Phil shuddered at the thought as they approached her. "Just the two of you?" She asked with a smile. They nodded and allowed her to usher them further into the pub.

The place was tiny but cozy. And besides a few lads at the bar, it looked like they were the only ones there.

Phil audibly gasped and shivered as a drop of icy water fell from his hair onto the back of his neck. The hostess turned and smiled at him before changing course. She had been leading them to a booth in the corner. Instead she brought them right up to an actual wood burning fireplace. Facing it were two cush chairs with a small table between them and a shared footstool just before the grate.

"This should take the edge of that chill nice and quick," she said as she set the menus on the table and went back to her post by the door.

The friends looked at each other before sinking in unison into their respective chairs. In a silence as comfortable as their seats they sat for a while and let the heat from the fire warm them. The waitress came and they both ordered drinks and decided to share a large platter of sweet potato fries.

"Would you like anything else?" the girl asked, smiling sweetly at Phil as she jotted down their order.

Both of them shook their heads. The warmth was acting as an appetite suppressant and neither was particularly hungry anymore. She took her leave.

Phil ran his hand over his hair and felt the slight waves at the ends. Dan smirked. "Maybe you should embrace the natural hair too."

In Phil's opinion Dan's hobbit hair always looked the best just as it was then. The curls were more pronounced when his hair was damp, making it appear shorter than it was. More of his face could be seen that way and Phil couldn't see any problems with that.

The waitress was quick with their drinks. She set the glass of wine in front of Dan then handed Phil is cocktail. His also came with a wink and a "Here you are, darling. Hope you like it."

Phil waited for her to start walking away before he took a sip. It _was_ good. He looked up and saw Dan shaking his head with an exasperated smile. 

"What?" Phil asked.

"You didn't give her a second glance. Shame," he smirked into his wine, "she strutted it back to the kitchen just for you."

Phil squirmed. "She's too young for me."

"Suuure she is."

Phil tried to glare at Dan but he couldn't keep it up. Instead he turned towards the fire and watched the flames dance as he sipped his drink.

Their fries arrived a few minutes later. Before the waitress could say anything Phil thanked her politely for the food and turned back to the fire. Dan noticed she seemed a bit miffed but she left without comment. With the looks she was giving Phil he was glad they already had their food or he would be worried she'd spit in it.

"Don't worry, the scary girl is gone," he joked and tossed a fry at Phil. "Now eat some of this food before it gets cold."

Phil stared Dan down and bit the end off the fry like it was the head of his arch enemy. Dan's eyes opened in shock. Then Phil laughed and tossed the rest of it into his mouth. "Gotcha." He chewed and swallowed. "Actually, these are really good."

Dan huffed and started eating as well. They lapsed back into silence.

Phil considered starting up conversation a few times but he couldn't think of anything to talk about. Somehow the silence was just comfortable. It felt _wrong_ to break it. After last night it seemed the two simply needed to be together.

That's it, just be with each other.

Phil reached over and moved the fries onto the footstool for a second. He pushed the table back behind the chairs and then scooted his chair over flush against Dan's. After repositioning the footstool he set the platter of food on the conjoined arms of their chairs.

Dan watched this all unfold with an amused smile turning up the corners of his mouth. Once Phil was finished Dan put his feet up on top of his friend's legs. He popped another fry into his mouth and settled his head on Phil's shoulder. Hopefully the waitress noticed and backed off. He had a feeling that this place would soon become a favourite of theres.


	10. Chapter 10

10th December

 

Phil's phone pinged and he called out to Dan, "They'll be here in five minutes!"

The morning had been spend tidying up the flat. Neither had any clue how it had gotten so messy in the past few days. Phil was rearranging the plushies in the fake snow of the lounge to make sure the impact was there. Dan finished up making a snack tray and set it on the table before helping Phil arrange the last bit.

They'd never made this big a fuss about Louise visiting before but they couldn't help themselves this time. Louise was very pregnant, they wanted her to be comfortable. She was also bringing Darcy with her and they wanted their flat to look magical for her.

The doorbell rang and both boys ran to get it. They opened the door and the girls squealed in delight. Phil put an arm around Louise and Dan knelt down to hug Darcy. Then the boys stepped back to let the mother and daughter into their flat.

Louise looked huge! Her second daughter would be here in about a month but to their eyes she looked ready to pop any day. Dan and Phil could hardly believe what women went through to have children, especially after filming that pregnancy terms video.

Darcy looked adorable, just like a mini Louise. She had the curly blonde hair, the same frilly dresses, and identical blue grey eyes. Not to mention Darcy had the same sweet face her mother had, though she showed a bit of her dad when she smiled.

"What's Liam up to today?" Dan asked as he took the girls' coats to hang them in the hall.

"Oh he's just doing a spot of shopping. He needs to compete with Santa." She glanced down to check that her daughter wasn't looking and then tapped her own chest and mouthed _I'm the Santa presents._

"Darcy!" Phil cried we they reached the lounge, "We really need your help with something." He held out the multifaceted coloured star and the white cloaked angel. "Which one should go on our tree?"

She didn't even blink. She jumped forward and grabbed the crystal star out of Phil's hand. Running over to the tree she held it up in front of her as if picturing how it would look with the tree all lit up. "The star," she said decidedly.

Dan came up behind her and lifted her up by the waist. "The star it is," he said, holding her just high enough to place the topper on the tree and instructing her to plug it into the rest of the lights.

Dan backed away and set the child down. Phil turned off all lights but the tree so she could admire her work.

"You have a really pretty house," she decided once she saw the flashing lights from the tree shine and reflect of the glittery snow and snowflakes around the room. "Mum, why isn't our house this pretty?" Louise glared jokingly at the boys and everyone laughed.

They sat in the lounge and munched on snacks for a while. Darcy chatted away, bringing Dan and Phil up to date on all the important life events of a six year old.

After a little while Louise said she had to move, sitting too long in one place was just too uncomfortable. Dan had to help her up because she'd managed to sink deeply into his sofa crease.

"Maybe the sofa wasn't the best idea," Dan apologised once he was sure she was alright.

With all the dignity she could muster, Louise fixed her dress and asked for a chair next time. To honour that request they moved to the kitchen and dining table.

"I have a surprise!" Phil announced as everyone sat around the table. In the middle he placed a large box. "Gingerbread houses!"

Darcy was practically bouncing off her seat as Phil opened the boxes. Out came large sheets of gingerbread (pre-formed to make setting up the houses dummy proof), packets of icing, and various types of candy. As Phil helped Darcy arrange it across the table, Dan grabbed a tray to build it on.

Louise requested to be able to film it. "It would make a great 'not worth watching' video." As Dan helped her set up her camera on the tripod she also added it's nice to have ready to go videos leading up to the birth.

Once the camera was set up they let Darcy go wild. Phil was all smiles as he followed her every order. "Put frosting along the bottoms." Phil made a large rectangle and then placed what Darcy said were the wall pieces. He followed her instructions to glue them together with more frosting. Then he placed the roof pieces on and held them together with her until the icing dried and they stayed there without slipping. Once the house was constructed and steady the real fun began.

Dan and Louise chatted on either side of the master builders in the middle. They weirdly seemed like the parents to the overly excited children, no matter that Phil was only a year younger than Louise.

As Phil decorated the actual house, Darcy spent her energy on the garden. She spread white icing over the pan to replicate snow. She made a trail of candies leading up to the front door. Then she pulled away with a bag of gumdrops. She started building something on her lap as she glanced up and the grown-ups talking around her. A few minutes later she set five figures in front of the house.

They were a gumdrop family. She set two towers of three gum drops next to each other on one side of the front door. On the other side were three figures. One matched the two on the other side, just three drops tall. Next to it was another one three drops tall but another half a drop stuck out from the middle drop. And slightly in front of those two was a figure only two drops tall.

Darcy hid the figures from the adults until Phil finished with the walls. Then she turned the tray to the camera and showed off her family. Louise clapped and gave her a hug saying she couldn't wait until next year for that little half gumdrop to be it's own figure for Christmas. Dan and Phil shared a glance. It didn't escape their notice that Darcy had them next to each other exactly how she had Louise and Liam. Like they belonged together.


	11. Chapter 11

11th December

 

Phil had been scrolling through shopping sites for hours and he still hadn't found the right presents for everyone. Yesterday was a wake up call for him. Somehow he had forgotten presents for most of his friends. It didn't matter where he looked online, he just wasn't finding anything that was standing out.

After a few more screens it gave it up. He shimmied out of his pyjama pants and swapped his glasses for contacts. It looked like he was going out, he'd better look presentable.

In the hall, Phil wavered. Did he want to ask Dan to join him or not? He was torn between having Dan's company all afternoon or having the chance to find another present for him. It wasn't really _that_ hard of a choice.

"Dan!" He called out, "Do you wanna come shopping with me?"

"What kind of shopping?" Dan yelled back, his voice muffled by the closed door of his room.

Phil walked over to Dan's room so he didn't have to shout again. "Christmas shopping," he said as he pushed the door open. "I was thinking of going to Piccadilly."

Dan grumbled something along the lines of "yay, expensive shopping..." Regardless, he closed his computer and began to dress.

Phil shrugged. "We can go somewhere else if you'd like."

"Nah," Dan patted Phil on the shoulder as he passed him heading into the hall. "Some people are worth the money."

He was rethinking that attitude while on the crowded train. It was early afternoon on a Monday, Dan did _not_ understand why there were so many people out and about. It wasn't any better when they got off at Oxford either.

"Just a quick stop at Top Shop," Phil assured him. "I want to get my mom some boots."

Of course, they couldn't stop of Top Shop without browsing Top Man as well. Neither of them really needed anything from there but they both ended up with a bag of clothes for themselves anyway. _Oops._

True to his word, Phil then lead them south. They walked down Regent Street towards Piccadilly Circus. About two thirds of the way to their destination, they once again got side tracked.

"Dan," Phil said in wonder, looking mesmerised at the display of a building they'd probably walked past a dozen times without giving a second glance. "Please?" He begged. 

They were stopped at this super posh cafe, Papillon. Dan sighed in exasperation but allowed himself to be dragged through the door. The desserts inside looked like heaven, even if the boys couldn't pronounce any of them. They instantly knew they were not the typical clientele.

"How do take away desserts sound?" Dan joked under his breath. 

Phil nodded gravely, not taking his eyes off a multilayer chocolate and what looked like coffee cream masterpiece. Dan eyed a white chocolate and raspberry swirl tart. He wondered if they could get away with pretending not to know English so they wouldn't have to talk to the extremely arrogant looking man behind the register. _Hmm probably not_ , he decided, but that still didn't stop him or Phil from simply pointing at the dessert they wanted.

Back out on the street clutching their tiny bags of expensive pastry, they stifled laughter. Dan set the bags on top of the jeans in his Top Man bag to free up their hands for more shopping.

They cut through a side street onto Piccadilly to avoid some foot traffic. Dan wanted to get some books for his family members and Phil agreed it sounded like a good plan. They walked along Piccadilly away from the Circus, knowing there was a Waterstone's somewhere on the street. They walked for a block and a half without seeing it.

Right when Dan was going to suggest turning around, Phil pointed towards a little nook of a store. "Oldest book shoppe in London" the sign boasted. 

"Let's check out Hatchard's," Phil suggested. Dan saw a good mix of books in the window display so he was agreeable.

The store was smaller than Waterstone's, but cozy and the books just had more character. 

"Holy crap!" Dan exclaimed, drawing a sharp look from the old woman who worked there. He pointed out that almost every shelf had a handful of signed books. And these were _random_ books to be signed.

Phil chuckled, "I know, Dan."

He left his friend to marvel at the history section of books and wondered upstairs himself. His eye was caught by a pair of books with the wrapping around the middle signalling they were signed. Both volumes of Dream Songs by George R.R. Martin. Those would be a perfect addition to his gifts for Dan! Phil pulled the books into his arms then quickly raced to another shelf to add some other decoy books. He couldn't let Dan see what he'd bought.

Back downstairs Dan was just checking out with a reasonable amount of books compared to Phil's mountain. "What the heck are all those?" He demanded as Phil set at least ten books down to purchase.

The old woman shushed him and motioned for him to wait by the door, out of her way. Phil was so relieved Dan wouldn't see his books he wasn't even bothered by her rudeness and gave her a smile as they left. 

With heavy arms they decided to just take the Tube at Piccadilly to get back home. However, Dan couldn't resist ducking into a tourist shop to buy a few joke gifts. These places were fantastic for gag presents and for really cringe, cheap gifts. The kind you either give someone you don't care about at all or that goes to your absolute best friend. Depends on the type of person, and Dan was both.

Even though it was dinner time their way home was less crowded than their way out. Both boys counted their blessings and enjoyed taking up four seats with their bags.

Upon getting home they vanished into their respective rooms to wrap everything. Though the presents were almost entirely for other people, it was still decided that their temporary home should be under the tree. It looked so full and festive even Scrooge would not have been able to deny the holiday mood.

It was with big smiles and sore arms that Dan and Phil collapsed onto their sofa. Legs crossing in the middle, they made themselves comfortable. And then of course it was time to eat those pastries and undo any good they did by walking and carrying so much.

"Thanks for inviting me out," Dan said as he dug into his tart.

Phil finished savouring his bite of chocolate. "And thank _you_ very much for coming."


	12. Chapter 12

12th December

 

Phil may have wanted to be a weather man as a child, but he did _not_ envy the one he was currently watching on his screen. The temperature had dropped significantly since dawn. Clouds were so think and dense with looming snow it seemed the sun never even rose.

The poor man showing the weather today was outside on the bank of the Thames. Snow was pelting his face as he tried to talk to the camera. It was a bad set up overall. But it got the point across. Anyone who watched this for even a few seconds knew it was a bad time to be outside.

Phil pulled a blanket around himself. It was absolutely freezing outside and seemed close to it in their flat. They hadn't quite figured out how the heat worked and it seemed stuck on "just warm enough for us not to freeze to death" but stubbornly refused to go any higher. 

He walked to the window and looked out. It wasn't yet snowing hard outside the flat, at least not from what he could see in the light from the lamp posts. Phil was very glad the rains from last week were over but it sounded like another storm was coming. In this cold it would likely be a heavy December snow... And he was pretty excited for that! All the fun parts of winter involved the snow after all!

But not today. Today was a day to stay inside and try to stay warm. On that thought Phil decided to check in on Dan. He'd always been more of a cold baby. It came with growing up in the south.

Phil searched the flat for Dan. Not in the kitchen, nor his room, nor the office. He heard his friend's voice carrying from the lounge. Confused, when walked over and listened for a minute before entering.

He heard Dan explaining their gamingmas video and asking "Did you like it?" before laughing and calling out so weird names. Then it hit Phil like a truck. Dan was doing his live show... Which meant it was after nine at night. And Phil had yet to see Dan once today. He blinked in wonder, trying to puzzle out where the day had gone.

He hesitated in the doorway. He didn't want to interrupt Dan's live show. But he also really wanted to spend at least a little time with him today. The desire won out over the courtesy.

When Phil stepped into the room he was smacked with cold air. He tightened the blanket around himself. The wind was cutting right through their wall like it wasn't there.

Dam caught his eye and scooted over on the sofa. For the benefit of the live show Phil allowed his teeth to chatter as he sat down.

"Wh- w- why," he stammered, "did you pick the coldest room to sit in for an hour?" He glared accusingly at Dan as if the chill was entirely his fault. 

"Because," he smiled and gestured to the room, an awkward motion of his arm because he tried to keep it in view of the webcam, "I haven't filmed in here this month." Phil looked at Dan and then the webcam with a blank stare. Dan elaborated, "The decorations. We put so much work into them I wanted to show them off."

" _We_ put work into them?"

Dan rolled his eyes. "Since _you_ transformed our lounge into a winter wonderland," he amended. Phil smiled smugly at the camera. Dan wasn't letting him get away with that. "Actually, can you please explain to everyone your motivation for making this room look like a blizzard hit it?"

Phil joked that clearly he was predicting the future. "The cracks are real, can't you tell?"

At that exact moment a blast of wind hit the flat. The windows shook. They could feel the temperature in the room drop.

Dan shivered. He looked so cold in his thin jumper. Phil slid over next to him and wrapped him in his blanket. They both shivered briefly in the cold while Phil opened his blanket but then they cuddled against each other. Each of them held one end of the blanket and with where their arms were positioned in between them they could have been holding hands.

The chat went wild.

_Omfg t_ _hey're so cute!!_

_PHAN!_

_They don't even try to hide it anymore_

_Ohmygod omygod omigod!_

_Imagine what else they've done under that blanket ;)_

_Phan is real!_

Dan pushed forward. It took longer to scan the chat for something non ship related to talk about. Phil could barely hide his smirk. They were long past the days where they tried to fight back against the shippers.

When Dan ended the show a few minutes later he looked at Phil and rolled his eyes.

"What?" Phil asked innocently as he pulled their blanket tighter around them.

Dan shook his head in exasperation. "You just love giving them fuel for their ship, don't you."

Phil shrugged. "I'm tired of being a different person when we're on camera together. Besides," he motioned to the still flowing chat, "it doesn't hurt us to let them dream."

_And maybe,_ Phil thought when Dan settled back into the sofa with him, _just maybe one day it'll come true._


	13. Chapter 13

13th December

 

"Why is it so fucking cold?" Dan exploded as soon as he walked into the flat, stomping the snow off his feet and wishing he had thought to wear boots.

"I thought we were trying _not_ to make these new neighbours hate us?" was Phil's only response from the other room.

"Oh please." Dan peeked into the sitting room and motioned for Phil to follow him. "We sit in otherwise empty rooms for hours and talk to a camera, which they can probably hear through at least one of the walls." He dropped the groceries on the kitchen counter. Shrugging off his coat he folded it over his arm and continued, "Plus I'm sure they really love us screaming at video games in the middle of the night."

"Maybe we're the comic relief that's been missing from their lives."

Dan grumbled and started grumpely sorting through the bags. His fingers were stiff with cold and his cheeks and nose were bright red. Phil couldn't help taking pitty on his ice lolly of a flatmate. "Why don't you go warm up a bit," he suggested and nodded towards the room he had just been in. "I'll take over in here."

Dan was too cold to argue. He went back into the sitting room and snuggled into Phil's blanket. He was pleasantly surprised to find it was still warm. Phil's laptop was sitting on the table so he pulled that onto his legs. With no hesitation he typed Phil's password and logged in, hopping into his friend's YouTube account before browsing videos.

Once Phil had put all the groceries away he chopped vegetables to make a soup for dinner. He wanted something to keep them both warm. Then he decided to treat Dan to a hot chocolate. Repayment for the Dil video but _non_ alcoholic this time.

Phil pulled Dan's rubix cube mug and a whiskers mug out of the cupboard. He made the drink just by melting chocolate into almond milk. Phil decided since he wasn't spiking it like Dan did he should go all out. Dan deserved it.

He grabbed a can of coconut cream out of the fridge and began whisking it to whip it up. After a few minutes he couldn't help thinking they really should invest in an electric mixer. He added a little too much (or way too much for a normal human) sugar to the cream. Then he poured the steaming chocolate into the mugs, only spilling about half a mug's worth. Carefully placing dollops of cream on top, he felt certain it was still missing something. His eyes locked on a bag of peppermint sweets. He poured a few on the counter and proceeded to smash them with a pan. The sweets dusted the top of each mug and Phil was satisfied.

He left the kitchen a disaster and went to serve Dan.

"Can I join you?" Phil asked as he turned the corner into the room.

Dan was completely engrossed in a video of dogs barking along to Christmas carols. He didn't even look up. "No." He snuggled further into the blanket. "Comfy."

"But I come bearing gifts." Phil blew the steam coming off the mugs towards Dan. He perked up instantly when the smell of chocolate and coconut hit his nose. The blanket was thrown open and Dan held out a hand to accept his drink. "I thought so," Phil laughed, squeezing into the sofa crease next to Dan. He set his mug down and rearranged the blanket to cover them both.

Dan took a cautious sip, trying to to burn himself. When he mix of flavours hit is tongue he sighed with pleasure. "Thank you."

"You deserve it."

They sat in silence for a little while, sipping at their drinks. Phil may have overheated it a bit so anything more than a tiny slurp had the added risk of searing off taste buds.

After a few minutes Dan broke the silence. "All we need now is a roaring fireplace. Complete the image of a perfect snowed-in day."

Phil stopped mid laugh and sprang into action, almost causing Dan to spill his chocolate. "What are you doing?" Dan demanded as Phil began shoving the sofa with Dan still on it.

"Giving you the perfect image." Phil looked determined so Dan shifted his weight to his feet and shuffled along the floor as Phil moved the furniture.

Thankfully the sitting room was small and it didn't take Phil long to redesign it. The table was now flush against the heating unit with the sofa directly behind it. The heat was blowing almost directly on the sofa which normally would have been uncomfortable but Dan welcomed it after his venture into the snowstorm. With nowhere else to put his legs Dan reclined across the length of the sofa and waited for Phil to reveal his vision. 

Phil fiddled with his computer and then set it on the table, turned so Dan couldn't see it. Then he crawled over the arm of the sofa and laid next to Dan. It was a tight squeeze but they'd done it many times before.

Phil handed Dan back his chocolate and then turned the laptop and raised the volume. On the screen was a cracking Yule log. Gentle instrumental holiday music played in the background. Suddenly the warmth felt like it was emulating from the flames instead of the heater behind it.

"Well," Dan scoffed, "it's _not_ the classic holiday scene." Before Phil's face could finish falling Dan cracked a smile. He pulled Phil against him so they were both laying facing the flames. He tilted his head to whisper in Phil's ear, "But it _is_ perfect."


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm a day behind! I fell asleep super early yesterday as some bug is going around my house. Hopefully I'll have two chapters for you tomorrow and we'll be caught up

14th December

 

The snowstorm blew itself out by Thursday morning. Snow was piled against the walls and windows of their building. The day was beautiful, clear and just above freezing. That made the snow perfect for packing. Which meant of course that all the grown up children in London had to go play in it.

The first time since breakfast that Dan emerged from his room, he was ambushed. Phil popped out of midair, camera in one hand and phone in the other. His phone was blasting "Do you wanna build a snowman?" at top volume.

"You're not serious?" Dan's forehead scrunched as he observed his flatmate. When Phil then broke into song as well and started acting out Anna's motions from the movie he knew. "Holy shit you are serious."  Fighting against it would be useless.

Phil didn't wait for Dan to confirm, he knew he'd never verbally say yes. But he'd do it anyway. "Dress warm!" He called over his shoulder as he ran into his room, "The snow comes halfway up to my knee."

Dan stood in shock for a moment, blinking, trying to process what just happened. We went back to his room to change. Looking out the window all he could see was white. Snow came halfway up the pane and frost covered the rest.

_So much snow!_

This was nearly unheard of in London, especially in December. But Dan knew why Phil was so excited. It reminded him of his childhood up north. This December just kept changing the routine. Dan was starting to miss the monotony.

"Dan!" Phil's voice echoed from Dan's doorway. "Help!"

Dan turned and couldn't suppress a laugh. Phil was bundled up like a little kid with an overprotective mother. His legs were so puffy he had to have several layers of sweats on. The bottoms of them were tucked into his boots. Dan could see a hat peeking out from under two hoods. A scarf wrapped around his neck. On his hands were bright blue mittens with sparkly white trim. Over his chest was one of Dan's jumpers and an unzipped coat.

Dan stepped forward and grabbed the bottom of the zipper. "You know," he played with the zipper, dragging it up and down the track, "you could've done your zipper _before_ putting on the mittens."

"Well, you still haven't done your zipper," Phil smirked as Dan checked his fly. "Please, just zip me up."

Dan obliged. Then he sent Phil outside and got himself ready. Far more sensibly dressed in a lined coat, earmuffs, boots and thinsulate gloves, Dan joined Phil only a few minutes later.

He found Phil carefully setting up a tripod in the snow. He made sure with what could be seen through the view finder would not give away where they live. Then he tilted it so it mainly showed the ground and maybe halfway up their bodies. Clearly this was going to be the angle for showing the snowmen as they were being built. Right that moment it was focused on a box of buttons and other trimmings for decorations, to bring their snowmen to life.

"Are we actually filming this?" Dan asked, fighting the urge to throw a snowball at Phil.

He shouldn't have held back. Phil tossed a handful of snow in his face before saying, "Of course. We need more holiday content besides the gaming videos."

Dan brushed the snow out of his face and said, "Fine." He picked up and handful of snow and started forming a snowball. Then he added even more. Phil eyed him wearily, knowing he couldn't make his own projectile without Dan throwing that one. And he didn't like his odds of being able to duck in time. But throwing it wasn't Dan's goal. His goal was getting a head start. "Then we're making it a competition. Best snowman wins. Loser has to edit the video and cook dinner."

Phil grinned. "Deal."

They set to work instantly, facing away from each other. Occasionally jests were shot over shoulders. It wasn't a very serious competition but that didn't mean they didn't each want to win.

Phil's snowman looked like it popped out of a storefront display. Threes spheres of snow, perfectly proportioned, stacked to make up his creation. His own scarf he wrapped around the base of the smallest of the three snowballs. He placed a line of buttons down the middle sphere, trying to make sure the ones he used were all identical. He fished two large brown buttons out for the eyes. For the nose he simply added a small clump of snow and tried to shape it into something that looked more like a nose than a tumour. The mouth he made with string, trying to give it a big smile. He broke two icicles of similar sizes off the nearest window ledge to use for the arms. Then he pronounced his masterpiece complete.

Dan took a different, less traditional route. He made his tall and skinny, piling about eight snowballs a little smaller than the head of Phil's snowman on top of each other. There was only a slight decrease in size from the base sphere to the top. He had back into the flat and came back with a button up shirt and tie. He left about four spheres exposed at the bottom for its legs. The shirt covered its torso nicely. Dan was surprised he managed to make a snowman about Phil's size. He tied the tie around its makeshift neck. He placed light blue buttons for eyes and used small black ones to create a mouth. He left the mouth slanted to one side to give the impression it was smirking at you. He decided to forgo the nose and arms.

When they had finished each began snapping pictured of his own snowman, trying to get the best angles to post on Twitter for the poll. Then Phil took the camera to pan each snowman top to bottom. When Dan posted the poll, leaving each snowman anonymous to avoid skewing the votes Phil filmed that part and then turned off the camera.

"We'll film the results tomorrow." Phil looked the snowmen up and down. "Honestly, I like yours better. But mine will win."

Dan wasn't sure how to take that. "What do you mean?"

"Mine's more traditional. And besides," he glanced at Dan then at his own feet, "yours is wearing my shirt so they'll think it's mine."

He left the rest unspoken but Dan filled in the blanks in his head. They both knew Dan was the more popular one in the phandom. It wasn't that he was better, just his stuff appealed to more people. But it may give the snowmen people thought was his an unfair edge.

As they went back into the flat Dan wasn't sure what outcome he wanted from this.


	15. Chapter 15

15th December

 

Dan and Phil sat down early in the morning to finish editing a gaming video. Spending so much time on the snowman building contest put them behind on their schedule. They worked rapidly, Phil doing the big edits and then Dan adding the fine details. It's a system they only used when they had several gaming videos to do but it always worked well.

When they finished the ones they had lined up they were still in the editing mood. Phil brought up the snowman video. He suggested they should change the prize for the competition and just edit as much of the video as they could now. The winner then got to decide what they did for the day rest of the day. And the loser still had to cook dinner.

With the days being so short they decided to call the poll early. They wanted to make sure there were still some hours of daylight left for the winner to take advantage of. Phil tweeted out that they were closing the poll in ten minutes asking people to make sure they voted. Both of them had stayed away from Twitter and especially avoided looking at Dan's so they wouldn't know who was in the lead.

"I'm pretty sure I won," Phil bragged as they watched the clock tick the minutes until they could look at the final results. Three minutes remaining.

Dan rolled his eyes. "Don't be so cocky. What about our viewers makes you think they'll go for the traditional one?"

That made Phil waver. His smile flickered before becoming a bit fixed. "I still say mine's better!"

"Yesterday you admitted you liked mine more!" Dan started to go off until he saw Phil biting back laughter. Dan had always been the more competitive of the two, and Phil loved egging him on.

They stared at each other for the last minute. The timer on Phil's phone counted down. The second it went off Dan pulled out his phone and opened Twitter. Those three seconds it took to load felt like three minutes, which was really a lifetime when you're impatient.

"Yes!" Dan shouted at the same time Phil groaned.

"Well well well," Dan screenshotted it and zoomed in on the percentages, "sixty three percent preferred my snowman. Not even a close competition." He carefully maintained a light joking tone to show he wasn't really taking any of this seriously. "What was that about you being sure yours would win?"

Phil mumbled in defeat. Dan didn't quite catch the words but he also wasn't going to be cruel enough to make Phil repeat it.

"Well I won," Dan bragged into Phil's face, "and I say we go to Hyde park. We haven't gone running in a while, I want to start it back up again."

Phil looked it more shocked than when he saw the results. _Dan_ wanted to do exercise? Voluntarily? And that's how he was spending his win? It didn't make any sense to Phil but he didn't argue. Dan won fair and square.

They changed into their running clothes. Phil wished he had a tad warmer of a jacket but he knew once they started running he would be plenty warm. Dan noticed his running shirt was a little snug, redoubling his resolution to go running today.

They set out and in true lazy person's fashion they rode the tube to where they wanted to run instead of walking there. Dan chose Hyde park for the atmosphere. It was simply a pleasant place to run, and especially pretty in December. He hadn't stopped to think about the snow.

The main paths of the park were clear when they arrived but snow formed large ridges effectively trapping them on the paths. There would be no shortcuts or explorations happening today. Everyone seemed to agree on that as while there were a decent number of people out and about, Dan saw no footprints in the expanse of snow beside the path.

They began their run side by side, jogging lightly to warm up. Dan, focused forward, didn't see Phil eyeing the snow with a sly grin. About a quarter of the way around the park they picked up the pace. 

Phil kept in line with Dan for a few minutes before dropping back slightly. He moved to the edge of the path and bent over slightly to scoop up a chunk of snow. It took more coordination than Phil was used to to both run fast enough to catch up to Dan and also form a snowball in his hands.

"Oh, Dan," Phil called, slightly behind Dan as they rounded a curve onto a bridge. Before Dan could turn to respond, a slushy snowball smashed him square on the back of the head. He shouted in indignation and skidded to a stop. He turned to face Phil but hadn't even opened his mouth to yell at him when another snowball exploded against his stomach.

Phil ran around the edge of a railing and scooped up yet another ball of snow and threw it without hesitation. That one missed Dan, but it started the war.

Dan shouted at Phil as he threw his own projectiles, "I just wanted to run!"

"You're still running," Phil pointed out as Dan took rapid steps to avoid the ball he just threw. "Only now you're getting a full body workout."

Dan was about to explain that's not how exercise works when snow burst in his face. Enraged by Phil's laughter, Dan jumped over the ridge of snow and started the battle for real. Using the ridge like a barricade, Dan ducked behind it to form several snowballs while protected from being hit. He popped up and rapid fired at Phil.

All but one of Dan's attempts missed but it was enough to drive Phil to follow his lead. Phil jumped over the ridge on the opposite side of the path. He took a few moments of fire as he built up his own wall of protection.

Then the snowballs began flying from both sides of the path. No one was keeping track of hits. Their only goal was to keep throwing longer than the other. They didn't notice the audience that was building in either direction on the path.

Most people stood to watch for a moment or two and then lost interest and went back the direction they came to not interrupt. A few brave souls ducked their heads and plowed through the fight in the occasional lull when both boys were prepping more snowballs. The rest were split between people filming the fight and others building their own snowballs, preparing to join in.

After about ten minutes of focusing solely on the other man both Dan and Phil were unprepared for the crowd's actions. From both sides snowballs pelted the YouTubers as the watchers decided to join in on the fun. They leaned around the ridges so the boys had no protection from the onslaught.

Mass confusion ensued. Dan and Phil stopped aiming at each other and started throwing back at the crowd. No one was on teams. It became a free for all. Squeals and shouts and curses came from all directions. All the innocent bystanders either ran or became caught up in the fight. Several kept filming with one hand and joined in on the fun by throwing snowballs with the other.

It only lasted another quarter of an hour before everyone seemed to agree to a truce at once. Without any formal end the participants collapsed to the path. Wet and cold, covered head to toe in snow, they all had red faces complete with ear to ear smiles.

A few of the participants were viewers of Dan and Phil and ran over to make sure they were okay and to ask for pictures. They got all the participants together, twenty one in total ranging in ages from ten to thirty three, and had a mass picture taken by one of the kid's dads who was waiting between amusement and impatience.

It took a little while to disperse everybody. But when Phil started shivering and sneezing everyone began scolding him to get home before he caught a cold. Dan made their goodbyes and lead him back to the flat. They stopped for a quick Starbucks to warm themselves up. Phil's shivering stopped but his nose stayed red and his eyes looked watery.

Back at the flat they dropped into the sofa in exhaustion. Dan was the first to recover and go get them warm clothes from their rooms. He changed quickly them tossed Phil's to him before going to the kitchen. Technically per their bet Phil should cook dinner, but Dan decided to just heat them both up leftover soup.

He came back to the sitting room and handed a bowl to a newly warm Phil. "That really was fun," Dan admitted.

"Yeah," Phil smiled into his soup. "But maybe we should have had warmer coats."

Dan snuggled up against him. "I'll keep you warm, don't you worry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a while to write so I'm still a day behind. I hope you like it though!


	16. Chapter 16

16th December

 

Phil didn't get out of bed the morning after the snowball fight. By early afternoon Dan was growing seriously concerned. He knocked lightly on Phil's door but got no answer. _Surely Phil wasn't still sleeping?_ Dan thought there was nothing else for it and pushed the door open.

Sure enough, there was Phil lying in his bed. But Dan froze in the doorway. Something felt wrong.

"Phil," Dan said gently. His heart sped up when he received no response. "Phil?" he asked quite a bit louder. A low moan issued from the bed as the bundle of blankets shifted jerkily away from the sound.

Slowly approaching the bed Dan kept up a steady flow of, "Hey Philly. You awake? Are you feeling alright? Can you tell me what's wrong?" He walked around the bed to the side Phil was facing. Blankets obscured his face so Dan leaned forward and pulled them down. Phil's face was deathly pale, all the colour from yesterday had gone. His fringe was plastered to his face with sweat. Dan reached out to brush it away.

He recoiled within a second of placing his hand on his friend's forehead. Phil was burning up. Dan didn't know what to do. He tried pulling back an eyelid just to have Phil weakly bat his hand away.

"Go away," Phil groaned, struggling to pull the duvet back up. Dan replaced Phil's cover and assured him he'd be right back.

Out in the hall, Dan immediately rang his mother. She answered on the second ring and Dan felt his heart begin to calm. Surely his mum would be able to help. He explained about their snow ball fight and how Phil was sick.

"Well of course he's sick!" His mom's voice crackles over the phone. "What were you two thinking getting all wet in this cold?"

Dan endured the lecture. "I know, mum. But his fever is really bad. He's sweating. He can barely move or talk. I," he hesitated, trying to find the right words. "I just want him to be okay," he ended lamely.

He heard his mom exhale. She took a moment to think before telling her son that if he won't take Phil to see a doctor he needs to break his fever. "Keep him hydrated," she advised, "and keep him warm. Get him some medicine, a fever reducer. And please, if he gets worse take him to the hospital."

Dan promised he would and thanked her for the advice. He filled up a glass of water in the kitchen and stopped in his room for a few cold tablets. He set them both on Phil's bedside table.

"Come on, Phil," Dan sat on the edge of the bed and helped prop Phil's head up in his lap. "I need you to drink this."

The first sip of water went down easy. Dan placed the tablets in his mouth. Phil managed to swallow one but choked on the other for a moment. Dan's breathing stopped in reaction. When Phil finally swallowed and gasped a breath, Dan found himself light headed as well.

Dan tried to have Phil finish the water but it trickled against Phil's closed lips. He set the water down and wiped Phil's chin. "No more," Phil mumbled, his face scrunched up in pain.

"Okay, okay." Dan helped Phil back onto his pillow. He glanced at the water. Well, he managed to get Phil to drink half a glass. He'd have to keep working on the hydration point, but at least there was some medicine in his system.

His mum's other advice had been to make sure Phil was warm. He slid off the edge of the bed and walked around to the other side. He didn't think about it, he just climbed into bed next to his friend. Dan whispered his apologies as he lifted Phil's duvet and crawled under it.

Phil whimpered as Dan wrapped his body around him, his cool hands like ice on Phil's burning skin. Dan cuddled against him. He pulled the duvet tight to make sure there wouldn't be a draft.

With his arm laying over Phil's chest, Dan could feel his heartbeat. It was slow, but steady. His breathing was more erratic but didn't seem laboured. So again, Dan's biggest concern was the fever.

"Go back to sleep, love," Dan whispered as he lay his head against Phil's shoulder. "Let the medicine do it's job. I'll be here when you wake up."

Phil's sleep was fitful. Dan spooning him kept him from tossing and turning but he did flail and shutter at random increments. Dan let himself believe the disturbances were coming with less frequency.

It began to grow uncomfortably warm but Dan resigned himself to bear it. The warmth would help Phil's fever and that's all the mattered. The warmth made Dan sleepy as well, and he ended up drifting off just as Phil began to sleep deeply.

Dan woke up to a pitch black room, probably the middle of the night. The next thing he noticed was that he was warm and damp. He had to unstick himself from Phil who was soaked in sweat. Dan placed a hand on his forehead. Warm, but that was to be expected with how bundled up they were. His fever was definitely gone.

Dan backed out of the bed, carefully replacing the duvet. It took some stretching to bring feeling back to his legs, he hated falling asleep in his jeans. He pulled his phone out of the pocket and used it to survey the room. On the bedside table the water glass was empty. Dan took that as a sign that Phil woke up at some point. That calmed Dan almost as much as the fever breaking.

He took the glass with him and exited the room. He refills it and comes back to the room to find Phil leaning against his backboard. His eyes were bleary and his throat was clearly dry when he asked, "Is that for me?"

Dan smiled and brought the cup to him. "How are you feeling?" He asked once Phil had drunk his fill.

"Tired," Phil admitted. "And gross." His clothes were plastered to him and he reeked of sweat.

Dan helped Phil to the loo and changed his bedding while Phil got himself cleaned up. They'd have to wash the duvet cover tomorrow. Dan replaced the sheets and pillowcases and hoped that would make Phil comfortable enough.

Phil trudged back into his room, moving as if his limbs were made of lead. "How am I still tired after sleeping all day?"

Dan felt wide awake but answered, "Because you're sick. You need your rest." He tucked Phil into bed. He wanted to join him but he knew he was too awake for that. Instead he went to take his leave. "Go back to sleep."

"What? No "love" this time?" Phil joked from his sheets. "Or is that just for when I'm dying?"

Dan paused at the door but didn't turn around. "Sounds like your fever was playing tricks on you."

"Whatever you say, love," Dan could hear the smile in Phil's voice. "Good night."


	17. Chapter 17

17th December

 

Phil's cold was a tad better but he still felt like death. He developed a cough over night but at least he was strong enough to leave his bed by himself. He went to have a much needed shower. A bath may have been a better idea but he was worried he'd fall back asleep.

He stumbled out of the shower, lightheaded, and sat on the toilet. He took a minute to recuperate before slipping a robe on. Back in his room he debated clothes but ended up collapsing on his bed in just the robe. He snuggled up and pulled out his phone, content to lay there until he was better.

Dan spent to morning tidying up the flat and doing laundry. He washed almost everything Phil touched, trying to get rid of the sick germs. Pointless really since Dan slept in Phil's bed with him for hours yesterday but it made Dan feel better to stay busy. After seeing Phil that sick thoughts of losing him wouldn't stay out of Dan's mind and he really was hoping to avoid another breakdown.

Since there have been an abnormally high amount of activity and trips out of the house this month, Dan decided a lazy day in was just what they needed. He also knew he had to spend it with Phil or he'd keep wondering if he was still lucid or if he'd somehow gotten worse again.

"Hey," Dan crept into Phil's room with arms full of clean bedding. Phil sat up and held his robe closed with a hand. He thanked Dan and moved to help put his bed back together. Dan pushed his hands away. "I can do it. Why don't you go to the lounge? I'll meet you there."

Phil looked like he was going to argue, but he shook his head slightly and left the room. Dan hurried to put the bed in order but struggled with the duvet cover for a few moments. Even in the short time Phil had been gone the thoughts of all the horrible things that could happen to him came to Dan's head. Forget the eagle owl; Phil was Dan's real world patronus.

Phil was sat on the sofa, legs crossed, glad for his warm robe in the cool room. When Dan came in he turned the tv on and set up Netflix. He brought a blanket over to Phil and sat next to him, picking up the controller.

"How does a movie marathon sound?" He started scrolling through holiday movies, seeing if any would stand out.

Phil tried to say "Sounds good to me" but each word was punctuated by three of four raspy coughs.

Dan handed the controller over. "Why don't you find the first one for us." He pat Phil's arm and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be back in a few minutes. You need some tea for that cough."

Dan made the tea nice and strong. He added ginger to help Phil's throat. Then he drowned it in almond milk and sugar to make it palatable. He took a sip and almost gagged at how sweet it was. Definitely perfect for Phil.

The sound of the movie Phil picked reached Dan before he entered the room. " _A Christmas Carol_?" Dan asked as he carefully handed Phil the mug. He looked a little unsteady and Dan was worried he'd spill it on himself. "I didn't expect that as your first choice. I was expecting _Elf_ or _Home Alone_. Something a little more cheery."

Phil drained half the tea in a long gulp. He smacked his lips in appreciation. Instead of setting the mug on the table he rolled it between his hands, holding it tight and using it to warm his hands. "I feel a bit like Scrooge today. I can't do anything. My voice is like an old man's. I'm _not_ in a festive mood." He look apologetically at Dan. "It seemed fitting."

Dan settled in next to him. "Whatever you want to watch, it works for me." As Scrooge was ranting on screen Dan asked, "Are you going to want the Grinch next?"

Phil heard the joke but treated it like a real question. "As long as it's the animated version."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Just drink your tea and get better." He settled in for the long haul _._

As each movie ended, Phil chose the next. Phil did indeed follow through with _How the Grinch Stole Christmas,_ trying and failing to sing along. Dan kept the tea coming.

Part way through _The Polar Express_ Phil began to nod off. Dan gathered him into his lap and laid his head against his chest. The movies kept playing, with Phil dozing as much as watching. He'd wake up every fifteen minutes or so in a fit of coughing.

Dan would hold him closer and rub his back until the coughing stopped. He went for more tea whenever Phil emptied a mug. At dinner Dan ordered a takeaway curry; not exactly sick friendly but it was delicious. He gave Phil more medicine after dinner.

"This kind makes me sleepy," Phil complained about half an hour after taking the cough medicine. _Miracle on 34th Street_ was playing in the background. Phil wrapped an arm around Dan and snuggled into his chest. "Sleepy," he mumbled again for emphasis.

Dan held him and let him sleep in his arms until the movie ended. Then he turned off Netflix carefully trying not to disturb Phil. He shifted out from under him and lay Phil flat on the sofa as he stood up. Phil's eyes opened groggily.

"Time for bed, Philly," Dan announced in a sing song voice.

Dan wanted to act like a parent, well Phil could act like a child. Phil stretched his arms out and said, "Carry me!"

Dan smirked but did as commanded. He bent and slipped an arm under Phil's knees and one in the middle of his back. In one motion he scooped Phil up like a baby.

When they reached Phil's room Dan unceremoniously dropped him the last little bit onto the bed. Phil huffed and them grabbed Dan's hand. "Stay with me, daddy!"

Phil burst out laughing (which turned into more coughing) as Dan's protest of "no no no no no, too far" came in response. Dan made a noise of disgust and thumped Phil on the top of the head. "I will get you some water and then I am going to my own bed." 

Dan came back a few minutes later with the water. Phil was changing into pyjamas after removing his robe. "Tuck me in?" He asked when he was laying back in bed.

"You really are working this sick thing for all it's worth." Dan joked as he secured Phil's bedding.

"I don't hear you complaining."

Dan dropped into a serious tone for a second. "Just get better. It scares me when you're like this."

Phil wanted to reach out and touch Dan. To comfort him. But his arms were pinned to his side. His frustration, or may be it was the medicine, made him bold. "Maybe a kiss will make it better."

Dan was taken aback for only a moment. He leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of Phil's head, right where he'd smacked a few minutes ago. "Get better," he repeated and with a quiet "goodnight" he went back to his own room, his head just as foggy as Phil's.


	18. Chapter 18

18th December

 

"Blerg," Phil sunk to the floor from his chair, leaving Dan to finish setting the video up to render. "This is the most _Mondayish_ I've felt since uni."

The day was grey. That was really the only way to describe it. Both boys were fighting back sniffles. There was a light but persistent rain outside, washing away the snow and slush. Between their health and the weather, the day just seemed to drag on.

After lunch Dan decided another warm cozy day together was really what they needed. It seemed that thanks to Gamingmas they were always editing. They had so much fun in November prepping and filming several games a day, whenever they felt like it. But that meant they'd left all the work that actually felt like work for December. Rewatching the gaming footage was fun but picking over every frame became tedious. No, they needed something non work related. Something they could do together.

Dan went down to the lounge and plucked one of the presents from under the tree. The rectangular box was pretty obviously a board game, or maybe a very solid box of clothes. But Dan and Phil had learned a while ago that getting each other clothes normally didn't end well.

Dan brought the game up to Phil's room, hiding it behind his back. He pushed the door open and saw Phil sprawled on his back across his bed. "Well aren't we being productive?" Dan quipped.

Phil sat up quickly, which earning him a round of gravelly coughing. He winced and rubbed his throat, looking accusingly at Dan. "I was just taking a little break. Sorry, I'm dying here. Remember?"

"You're the one who started the snowball fight."

"And you're the one who wanted to go running to begin with." Phil sniffled and scooted to sit on the edge of his bed. He motioned to his head, "This is what we get for trying to be healthy."

"Well," Dan brought the present out from behind his back and stepped into the room. "How about we both take the rest of the day off?"

"Dan!" Phil scrambled to the other side of the bed. "We can't open that." He pulled it out of Dan's hand and into his lap. "It's still a week til Christmas!" He ripped the bow off the top and picked at a corner of the wrapping. "I can't believe you used the Dan and Phil shop wrapping paper."

Right as Phil ripped into it, Dan pulled the box back. "Well if you don't like the idea I guess we can wait til Christmas and go back to editing today."

"No!" Phil grabbed the opposite side and yanked it back. "No take backsies."

Dan smiled and crossed his arms as Phil tore the wrappings off. The game tumbled onto the bed, face down. Phil pondered the back of the box for a minute. "Yeah, I have no idea. Looks fun!" He flipped it over. " _Terra Mystica_ ," he pronounced slowly. His eyes quickly scanned the edge of the box. "Yes! Two to five players. Let's go!"

Dan sat on the bed, smoothing out the sheets. It was clear Phil didn't plan on moving rooms. Plastic wrap piled of the side of the bed, thrown carelessly by Phil as he unwrapped the pieces for the game. There were _so many_ pieces!

"Teach me," Phil bounced in excitement, causing the piles to scatter around the sheets.

"Oh, I don't know how to play," Dan said nonchalantly looking at the box to see their set up.

"Dan!" Phil complained. "I wanna play!"

"Calm down." Dan placed a hand on Phil's chest. The bouncing diminished. "We'll learn together. How hard can it be?"

He shouldn't have said that. 

The instructions said there was a ten minute set up time. It took them almost half an hour just to work out what the pieces were and another twenty minutes to set up the board. The shakiness of the bed wasn't helping.

Then the attempted to play without reading the rules fully. The first game was meant to be a throwaway, just to help them figure things out. Phil insisted it counted as a real game though, as he would since he won. Well, they think he won. They weren't really sure what was happening but he was definitely doing better than Dan.

Dan dramatically flipped the board halfway through the second game. "Stupid Germans!" he announced.

"Sorry?" Phil's face knit in confusion. That comment was strange enough to distract him from his annoyance that Dan wouldn't let him win again.

"It's a German game," Dan grumbled. Embarrased he left the bed and started crawling around the room to find the pieces. "They actually make you think. Who wants to be forced to think while playing a board game?"

Phil smirked. He watched Dan moving around on the floor. One would think after all these years Dan would have found a pair of jeans that actually fit. But nope. Bent over and crawling around his ass was very much hanging out. Not that Phil was complaining.

"You bought it," Phil reminded him as Dan returned with everything he scattered. "And I think this needs to be a Dan versus Phil for the gaming channel." Phil's laugh at Dan's expression once again evolved into a deep coughing fit.

Dan ran to get him water and when he came back Phil was still coughing. He was much quieter now, air struggling to get in and out with the constant coughs. Dan rubbed his back as Phil tried to sip at water. Dan blinked back tears when Phil finally sucked in a deep breath and managed to break off the fit.

Dan's eyes may have been dry but tears were streaming down Phil's face from the effort of breathing. "Being sick sucks," he rasped.

Dan didn't know what made him do it. Phil looked so helpless. He leaned around and pressed a kiss to the side of Phil's neck. Instead of crunching down like Dan expected, Phil stretched and arched his neck in response. Dan moved in front of him and kissed Phil's exposed Adam's apple as well.

"Are your kisses magic now?" Phil asked when Dan backed away. "You're going to make me all better?"

"We'll have to wait and see."


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops! Fell asleep without posting this last night! Don't worry, there will be another update later today as well!

19th December

 

Phil popped his head into Dan's bedroom, without bothering to knock, "Live show over?"

"Yeah," Dan said with a stretch, moving his laptop off his legs. He was so relieved to hear Phil's clear voice again with hardly a trace of his gravelly cough. He kicked his legs up and swung them over the edge of the bed with the intent to jump into his pyjamas early, until he saw Phil still standing at his door. His friend was bundled up in a coat and scarf, feet shuffling in his boots as if he was nervous. "What's wrong?" Dan asked, a note of concern evident in his voice.

"Nothing. I was just heading to the store quick and wondered if you needed anything?" Phil's eyes didn't meet Dan when he added under his breath, "Other than cereal."

Other than exhaling deeply Dan pretended for Phil's sake that he didn't hear that last part. He stood and yawned before saying, "Grab my coat, I'm coming with you."

"You don't have to! You look tired."

"If I don't you'll come back with the wrong cereal and six types of sweets we don't need."

Dan couldn't see it as he followed his flatmate to the front door but a smile was covered Phil's face from ear to ear. He hadn't wanted to go alone. Plus he had a special surprise for Dan. 

Helping Dan into his coat, Phil innocently suggested maybe they could walk a few streets over and get a coffee before Dan fell asleep while standing. He hooked his arm with Dan's to help keep him upright.

Dan nodded absentmindedly. He followed Phil over a few blocks, not really paying attention to anything other than their locked together arms. It wasn't that weird of a thing for friends to do, just they didn't normally do it in public. Especially not since they'd gotten so big on YouTube.

He didn't fully take in his surroundings until Phil stopped causing him to jerk backwards because of course he had tried to keep walking. Phil put his other hand on Dan's chest to hold him up and push him back. "Careful," he chuckled, "you're about to plow straight through that window."

Sure enough when Dan looked forward he saw the glowing display of a gift shop. The display showed Santa surrounded by elves holding up presents for his inspection. As far as Dan was aware he'd never seen this shop before. Nor, he noticed as he glanced around the neighbouring buildings, had he ever been on this street before.

"Where are we?"

Phil laughed and turned Dan to face a Starbucks right next to a small Sainsbury's. "Getting coffee and then groceries."

Dan blinked a few times but decided not to question it. He rehooked Phil's arm and went into Starbucks. When they walked back out Dan was a quarter way through his hot chocolate and double espresso. Phil had just barely tasted his white hot chocolate and peppermint.

Phil checked his phone and dragged Dan with him into Sainsbury's. Dan wanted to linger in the snack aisle but Phil marched them through the store with purpose. He kept glancing at his phone. If Dan didn't know him better he would think Phil was checking off a shopping list. But Phil was never that prepared.

He rushed them through the self check out. With two bags of groceries ready to go Dan expected Phil to pull them out the door. But instead he causally walked back to the street, once again glancing at his phone.

"What are you planning?" Dan asked with a laugh. He tossed his empty coffee cup into the bin outside the store and waited expectantly.

"Noth-" Phil stopped and his face broke onto a smile. "For you to see that," he amended and pointed to a small cluster of people walking down the pavement.

The group was slowly approaching them. They had their hands tucked in their pockets instead of holding sheet music in front of them but their voices made it clear what they were. Phil had brought Dan over to this random street, not to get groceries, but to hear the carolers.

"How'd you know they'd be here?" Dan's face mimicked Phil's smile as they bobbed back and forth listening to the singers.

Phil shrugged. "I saw it on Twitter." He wrapped one arm around Dan's waist and sipped his hot drink from the other hand. "I thought we needed something to get us into the Christmas spirit."

"Awe," Dan rested his head on Phil's shoulder. He sang along to the carols under his breath, knowing Phil could hear every word.

The carolers were only on the street for about fifteen minutes, but Dan was smiling like Christmas came early. "You really liked it?" Phil asked as they walked back to the flat.

"I did," he didn't add that he hadn't seen carolers in years. They reminded him of his childhood when they used to come down his street at home. "Cliche," he felt Phil slump a little bit, "but adorable. Thank you." They held each other a little closer for the rest of the walk. If Dan wasn't mistaken, Phil seemed to have a spring in his step after that comment.

When they made it back to the flat it was time for bed. They needed a good night's sleep. The filming for the Christmas radio show was tomorrow morning. They didn't want to oversleep and be late or undersleep and look like death.


	20. Chapter 20

20th December

 

"Come on, Dan! We're going to be late!" Phil opened the door to his flatmate's room to find him lounging on the bed, still in his pants. "Dan." Phil's voice was full of exasperation. He wasn't even surprised. Dan always waited until the last minute.

"What?" Dan said innocently. He checked the time on his phone. "We have three minutes until the taxi gets here. I'll be ready." Phil raised an eyebrow as Dan made no move to rise. "I'll be ready! Go wait for the car. Have some faith, I'll be down in a minute."

True to his word, Dan exited the flat at the same time their taxi pulled up to take them to the BBC. Somehow he managed to pull off dry shampoo, three day jeans, and a festive jumper Phil was pretty sure hadn't been washed once this year. But to everyone else he was showing off his natural hobbit hair, one pair of black jeans looked like any other, and his jumper fit perfectly with the Christmas themed radio show they were filming.

"Only you," Phil sighed as they climbed into the taxi. Dan smiled and shrugged off the compliment. In his mind he didn't look that good.

When they arrived at the radio station their producers jumped on them. It had been so long since they'd done a show, especially a two hour one. Apparently there was a whole medley of new tech for them to learn how to run.

"One benefit," one of their producers, Robin, was saying, "of this being prerecorded is we can fix any of the little mistakes."

"But keep the mistakes little," Nick added as he ran past to his show. "You still only have two hours to film a two hour show!"

Just like a few years ago they were going to show fan submitted Christmassy music videos to make up most of the special. In reality there was only about forty minutes to film with Dan and Phil on camera. 

"We don't need you to actually start any of the songs, we'll edit those in later." Robin brought them into their studio and showed them which button to press. "But we need you to _look_ like you're qeueing up the songs."

"We know, we know," Dan waved her off dismissively. He wasn't intending to be rude, he was just anxious to be back in the studio. This place was a second home to them for years.

To smooth over the moment Phil praised their design. "This place looks amazing!" Icicles, ornaments, tiny trees, a giant tree, garlands, popcorn strings, every possible decoration adorned some facet of the studio space. Their headphones had bells attached, a compromise. They had wanted to wear Santa hats but the producers insisted it would mess with the headphones. The red and green bells added some festive bling at least.

They fell back into their old routine almost instantly. Everything felt _right_ about the place. Their banter came easy here, they really didn't have to try.

The producers had their own bits in the show as well. They'd pop in from time to time to help with stunts or games.

Dan and Phil decided to bring back an old favourite.

"We have to do the wrapping game," Phil insisted.

The producers were less than thrilled as they knew what parts they'd have to play. Sure enough, soon two of them were sitting in chairs, waiting to be wrapped.

"Should they be sitting or standing?" Dan asked. Traditionally they did this bit with their human presents standing up.

Phil considered for a moment. "I think sitting adds an extra challenge. We have to wrap the chair too, so it's no longer just running in circles around them."

They used the song _Rocking Around the Christmas Tree_ as background music for the competition. On the first attempt Dan dumped his producer out of his chair trying to wrap beneath it. He went right into the sound equipment and it took them several minutes to set things back up. The second attempt was also cut short when Phil bumped his head on the side of the chair so badly he blacked out for a few seconds and had to be pulled off the floor. Once he was able to stand without wobbling they started the third attempt.

"Third try had better be the charm," Robin said as she settled back into Phil's chair. "We're running out of time. Whatever happens is staying in."

The boys agreed and waited for their cue to start. At the first note they dove into action. With two times of practice the third trial went quite well. Phil fell again, but on his bum this time so they didn't stop the song. By the end both boys were tired and dizzy from weaving up and down and all around their chairs. When the music stopped they stumbled between the chairs and stopped in the middle of the room, leaning against each other. Back to back they tried to catch their breath.

The producers rocked their chairs and twisted to face the centre of the room. It was clear who the winner was. Dan's producer was covered completely except for his face. He even had a bright red bow on his head. Thanks to Phil falling, Robin was only half wrapped, her whole upper torso free of paper. Phil tried valiantly to press his case but was overruled three to one. Still resting against Dan, he didn't argue. He did however lean farther back, pushing the two friends directly into the centre of the room.

"Ahh!" Robin shrieked in delight and pointed towards the ceiling. "Mistletoe!" She giggled as Dan and Phil instantly sprung apart.

They spun around and looked up. Sure enough, the little bundle of white berries and dark green leaves was right above Dan's head. Every expression possible, from worry to fear to anger to hope to joy and on passed over Dan's face. But the rotation ended on a joking grin. "Well?" He asked Phil, holding a hand out.

"Well what?" Phil's face showed only apprehension.

"Well get over here."

Phil took Dan's hand and came closer. Dan leaned in to kiss him and Phil's breathing hitched. This couldn't be happening. Not like this. Phil wasn't sure if he wanted to kiss Dan or not but he knew he didn't want to kiss him now. Not public on the radio. But Dan was right in front of him and leaning in. What kind of friend would he be if he pulled away?

Dan smiled when he saw Phil close his eyes and lean in. He wanted so badly to kiss him. Instead he reached up with his free hand and held Phil's chin. He tilted Phil's head to the side and planted a sweet inoccent kiss on his cheek, in full view of the camera.

"Awe," came a chorus from both the producers as well as everyone working lights, sound, and camera in the other room.

Phil followed Dan's lead and laughed it off. They kept their hands linked until the next song break. The shippers were going to have a field day with that! Their lips couldn't have been more than a few inches apart, the edits were bound to look very realistic.

"Okay," Robin put her hands up, in defense or surrender Phil couldn't be sure. "Before either of you asks, no, we are not editing that out. Ah, ah, ah," she waved a finger in their direction as Phil was ready to protest, "it was cute. It stays in."

"Of course it does," Dan smirked and elbowed Phil in the side jokingly. "You also know it'll drive ratings up. And if you put that bit in the YouTube condensed version you're bound to get drowned in views."

She looked offended, but couldn't keep the smile out of her eyes. "I hope you're not suggesting we'd use your ambiguous sexualities and playful kiss to manipulate your fans just to get views."

"Yeah," the other producer jumped in, "We also want to keep it in because no one would believe us otherwise." He winked at them before steering the conversation into safer waters.

They finished the show about fifteen minutes later without further incident. The taxi ride home was silent. The air had an electric quality to it.

When they arrived at the flat Phil walked directly through the door and to his room.

Dan followed carefully. He fought to keep the hurt out of his voice when he reached Phil's room. "What's up?"

Phil didn't look up from his phone. "Nothing. I'm just planning for filming tomorrow. We haven't done holiday baking yet."

Dan sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Why? It's going on my channel. It's my fault we're running behind." Phil pulled out a paper to write a shopping list for the recipe he found.

"Not about the baking video!" Dan didn't hide his exasperation. "About the mistletoe today."

Phil took a deep breath but didn't look up. "Why? We had to do something. I'm glad you thought faster than I did and came up with that."

Dan wasn't sure how to take that. He thought that Phil wanted to kiss him. Actually kiss him. It looked that way at least. "Look, I clearly made you uncomfortable. And for that I'm sorry."

Phil set down his phone and looked up. He patted the bed next to him and waited for Dan to come sit down. "Would you stop apologising? I'm not upset with you."

"Then what's wrong?"

Phil shrugged. He didn't know how to express it. "I just wasn't expecting it okay? That's all. I promise." Then he held up his phone. "And I really am planning for tomorrow. My mom sent me a recipe our family makes sometimes for Christmas. It's complicated, but we need something to take to the Christmas party on Saturday and I think this'll be good."

Dan let it go. He could tell Phil needed space. "I'll let you plan then."

"Dan?" Phil said quietly just as Dan exited the room.

"Yes?" He popped back around the corner.

Phil's face had a soft smile. "I haven't coughed at all today. And my throat isn't in any pain."

"That's great," Dan said, happy for his friend but unsure why he was called back for that.

"What I'm trying to say," Phil glanced down and took a breath before looking back at Dan. "I guess your kisses really are magic. I'm all healed."

Dan smiled and blew a kiss at Phil. "Good luck writing the video. I'll be in my room if you need me."

Dan was happy to walk away with the tension gone. His chest felt lighter. Phil wasn't mad about the kiss. And judging by the sound of the family recipe they'd be spending all day filming together tomorrow. He couldn't wait.


	21. Chapter 21

21st December

 

Dan was careful to give Phil space the morning after the mistletoe incident. He knew Phil wasn't mad, but things were bound to be a little awkward for a while. Dan just hoped it wouldn't come across in their video. He also had to remind himself not to swear, the video was going up on Phil's channel after all.

Phil didn't see Dan at all that morning. He woke up when Dan was in the shower. By the time he left his room, ready to tackle the day, Dan had retreated to his office. Phil called out that he was going to buy supplies for the video. He hoped Dan would volunteer to join, but he received no response, so he went alone.

When he returned his spirits dropped even further. As he walked through the front door he heard a low "crap" followed by the sound of footsteps and then a door closing. Unsure how to feel he headed to the kitchen where he saw a cabinet door ajar and a glass teetering against the wall. Clearly Dan had abandoned his quest for a drink to avoid seeing Phil.

Moisture came to Phil's eyes and it took him a moment to blink it away. He had to dig his nails into his palms to avoid rubbing his eyes. He couldn't take the chance of them being red in the video.

He tugged at his hair, using the discomfort to ground himself. The clock on the wall showing it was already half twelve knocked Phil out of his sorry for himself mood. The recipe he had planned for today took a few hours, he really needed to get started. He dug through the kitchen and arranged all of the equipment they would need for the video. 

Honestly it wasn't much; a bowl to mix things, measuring spoons, a spoon, a towel, two trays to bake on, and a knife. But that was more complex than any of their other videos so Phil was worried.

It took him about half an hour to get everything prepared. He pre-measured all the ingredients they would need into small bowls. Yes he was making more dishes but it would make the filming smoother. And if he was being honest, it was putting off the point where he needed to call Dan in to start filming. 

For a moment, he considered not getting Dan. What would everyone think if he did a solo baking video? But before he could turn the camera on he changed his mind. Whatever was up with Dan, Phil knew he would be professional enough not to show it on camera. Besides, there was no way they were getting past this is they didn't talk to each other. 

Dan thought he noticed some hesitation in Phil's voice when he knocked on the office door and asked Dan if he was ready to help. Of course he was ready! He had been waiting since Phil got home. He left the kitchen so Phil could set everything up the way he wanted without Dan taking control. Dan's tendency to take over had been a problem in the previous baking video on Phil's channel and he didn't want a repeat. But he was excited to bake this recipe, he'd never had it before.

"Do we need our baking aprons?" Dan ran to the hall cupboard that held their miscellaneous props and pulled them out.

Phil took a second to respond. "Yeah, sure." He took the muscle one from Dan and tied it around his waist.

Dan reached up to help Phil slip the top bit over his head but Phil stepped back. He secured the apron himself and raised an eyebrow at Dan, as if wondering why he was still standing there.

"Okay," Dan sighed as he put his own apron on. "Are you ready to start filming?"

In response Phil plastered a smile on his face. He turned on his heels and walked into the kitchen. Dan followed trying to maintain his calm. He was really torn between wanting to yell at Phil to tell him what was wrong and wanting to go back to his room and block out the world for a while. Instead he forced a laugh, knowing it would make his smile look genuine.

When Dan finally showed up in the kitchen Phil showed him how everything was set up. "The recipe is in that book over there," he motioned to a thin cooking volume on the counter at the end of the supplies. "Ready to start?"

Dan nodded. Phil turned the camera on. Instantly he slip back into frame and bumped Dan with his hip. "Look who's back on my channel!" 

His excitement, whether faked or not Dan couldn't tell, was contagious. "The only person he could get to humiliate themselves at a minute's notice." Dan didn't have to reach far to pull an annoyed look. But the smile didn't leave his eyes.

Phil jumped forward and spread his arms. He announced another holiday baking video and Dan did a little dance in the background.

"Okay everyone, bear with us for this recipe," Dan gave a worried look to Phil and then to the camera. "We're trying an actual holiday baking recipe. This isn't no easy bake!" He looked at Phil for confirmation. Then he sighed at the camera. "We're gonna need major luck on our side to pull this off because we are making-"

They both announced together, "a coconut, raspberry braid!"

"That is right!" Dan jumped back in front of the camera. "We have to make a dough."

"We need to fill it with stuff." Phil held up various ingredients, most of which didn't go into the filling. "We get to make a crumble for the top."

"And," Dan bounced nervously, "we have to attempt to actually braid the bread. Now it says in our recipe," Dan ducked off camera to read out of the book, "it says 'it may take patience and several attempts to master this design' but we don't have that!"

"The recipe makes two breads," Phil chimed in. "So we get two chances."

"And it actually has to look okay, because we're taking this to a party tomorrow!" Dan blew air up his face, making the few curls of his fringe fly upward.

"Wellll," Phil pulled out his phone to film the ingredients. "Let's get started." He tried to wink at the camera but ended up blinking. They'd edit that out later. Phil scanned the phone camera over the measured out ingredients and made a note to add the measurements in texts on screen so it would be easier to follow.

Dan stood behind the main camera, tilting it and making sure the zoom was in focus on Phil holding the ingredients. His voice came from off screen, "For the dough you will need..."

"300 millilitres coconut milk," Phil wiggled the bottle then tossed it to the counter. The audience couldn't see but it landed on towels they had set up.

"A half a mashed banana," Phil said, holding up the bowl.

Dan appeared at the bottom of the frame holding the other chunk of banana. "You could save the other half for the top... Or eat it since you didn't have breakfast." He shoved it into his mouth then vanished off screen to chew.

"Two tablespoons of coconut oil," Phil held up the jar and then also tossed and caught a bag before saying. "And four tablespoons of coconut sugar."

Dan appeared again. "I didn't know either of these ingredients existed but apparently they are very important for giving the bread a coconutty flavour."

Then they switched to Dan tossing Phil the ingredients as Phil called out quantities. "For the dry ingredients," Dan said, "you will need-"

"Salt!" Phil gasped as he almost missed catching it. "Only 3/4 of a teaspoon."

"Very precise," Dan added before throwing the next ingredient.

Phil caught the large bag of flour and said, "480 grams of flour." Then he quickly tossed the flour to the side to catch the last little jar. "And finally one and a quarter teaspoon of active dry yeast."

They filmed the dough ingredients one more time. Then they switched placed and Dan announced the filling and crumble ingredients.

"The filling is the easiest bit," Dan admitted, holding up a jar. "All you need is 160 grams of raspberry jam."

"And a tablespoon of melted coconut oil to brush over the dough." Phil showed the oil jar again.

"Keep the oil out because you'll need two tablespoons of it, plus two tablespoons if coconut sugar and five tablespoons of flour." Dan didn't bother showing the other ingredients, they'd already shown them. "These are going to mix together and make a crumble for on top of the braid right before you bake it."

Making the dough was a non-event. It came together easily with just a spoon. They showed the camera that it did indeed look like a bread dough.

"Are we doing something right so far?" Dan sounded incredulous.

"We'll have to wait and see. The dough now has to rest under a towel for at least an hour until it's doubled in size." Phil showed them the tea towel he tossed over the bowl. Once they had that shot in he turned off the camera.

"And now we wait," Dan leaned against Phil in mock exhaustion. He felt Phil stiffen up. Dan backed off physically but didn't drop it this time. "I thought we were settled after last night?"

Phil wanted to explode. He wanted to scream at Dan for ignoring him all morning. He also thought things had been okay but Dan certainly wasn't acting like it. Instead he wrapped him in a hug. Dan melted into his arms. As soon as he felt Dan hug back he knew they'd both blown things out of proportion. No one can hug like that if they're mad at the person.

There was still a tension in the air when they broke apart, but they'd reached a comfortable level.

The washing up from the first part of the video took them almost to the next stage. "Why did you get all these bowls?" Dan bemoaned the fact that he had to clean more that just a spoon.

Phil bit back the honest answer of _I was procrastinating calling you because I was worried you were mad at me_ and went with the more acceptable, "Because it made the filming part so much easier!"

Dan grumbled but kept washing up. He figured since Phil did all the set up it was only fair for him to do the bulk of the cleaning. 

Once everything was dried and put away Phil pulled out the remaining ingredients. He grabbed a bowl of raspberry jam from the fridge. Then plopped a dollop of coconut oil in a little bowl to microwave it. It was boiling when he took it out (maybe a minute was too long for a little over a tablespoon) but it would have time to cool before they needed it.

"Let's film us making the crumble part before we roll out the dough," Phil said as he gathered those ingredients. It was just sugar, oil, and flour. As Dan filmed Phil tried to use a fork to get the chunks out of the coconut oil. "Maybe we should have melted it first," he gave that advice to whoever at home was crazy enough to follow this recipe. It took a few minutes but finally came together.

Then it was time to tackle the dough. It had more than doubled by this point. "So we have to knead it down and then split it in half." Phil informed the audience. He filmed on his phone while Dan punched the dough.

"This is a good time," Dan punctuated his words with punches, "to get out any pent up frustration."

Phil's laugh came from off camera. "Now we need a rolling pin," Phil handed the object to Dan.

"Phil, this is a wine bottle." When Phil shrugged Dan burst out laughing. "Are we actually using a wine bottle to roll out our dough?"

"Well we don't have a real rolling pin," Phil pointed out defensively. "And the internet says wine bottles work."

The smile would not come off Dan's face as he rolled out the two pieces of dough. He made weirdly oblong rectangles. "Okay," he looked at the camera then at Phil. "What's next?"

"Now we put the jam down the centre third of the dough," Phil dolloped spoons of jam as he was speaking. He let Dan smooth it out over the middle part of each roll. "Then we just take a knife," a butcher knife appeared in his hand, directly in front of the camera, "and cut little diagonal slashes on the sides of the bread up to the jam. Then we alternate and cross the pieces of dough over the jam to make a braid."

"Yup, everyone, it's that simple!" Dan looked petrified as he took the knife from Phil.

They each decided to do one braid. Cutting the strips was the most nerve wracking part because they were trying so hard to make them all the same size. When it came to the braiding they both thought they did well. Phil's looked more like a line of Vs than a braid like Dan's. But Phil's was much neater as jam was oozing out from between the cuts of Dan's braid in several places.

They showed off their attempts to the camera. "Now, they're not perfect," Dan admitted.

"But they're pretty good for a first try!" Phil chimed in.

Dan repeated, "Definitely good for a first attempt." Then he peered at the recipe. "Now we coat them in coconut oil," Phil took a little spoon and rubbed the melted oil over both of them, trying not to mess up the designs. "Then we just sprinkle the crumble on top and bake them!"

They forgot to preheat the oven so they sat around picking at the leftover jam until it was heated. "Pop them into a 180 degree oven-"

"Or 350 degrees for you non metric weirdos," Dan chimed in.

"-and bake for thirty minutes, rotating your breads halfway through so they cook evenly," Phil finished.

The breads cooked perfectly, though Dan's leaked all over the baking tray. "Oh no!" Phil cried when he pulled them out of the oven. He used his phone to show what happened.

"No no," Dan broke in, "You see you have to make one look bad because that gives you an excuse to eat without sharing." He burnt his fingers a bit but he pulled the end of the bread and the bottom section of the braid came right off. 

He took a bite and moaned. "It's so good!"  He held his piece out to Phil who had to lean in front of the camera to bite it. 

He chewed for a second and then his eyes lit up. "That's amazing!" He looked down at the bread then sadly at the camera. "These aren't going to last until our party."

"These aren't going to last through dinner," Dan pointed out through another mouthful.

They ended the video with sticky red mouths from the jam and coconut oil. Somehow half of Dan's loaf was gone by the time the camera was stored away.

"I guess we'll need to make more for tomorrow," Phil sighed, not actually too upset about that prospect. Thankfully they had enough ingredients to make another batch.

Between steps for batch number two they fed each other bites of Dan's bread. It was an unspoken agreement that they would leave Phil's for breakfast.

By the end of the night they had two much better formed braids to show for their efforts. They knew the bread tastes delicious and these two actually looked like it. For once they had something to be proud of to share with their friends. Well, the first time it was food related at least. They were both looking forward to tomorrow.


	22. Chapter 22

22nd December

 

Dan and Phil skipped lunch after splitting one of their raspberry braids for breakfast. It took all their willpower not to dig into their second batch. They needed those for later today.

That night was a huge YouTube creator party put on by the Google headquarters in London. But before that small groups of YouTubers were meeting at the creator spaces to film and hang out. It was a time to see each other before the craziness went down. That's the part they were bringing the food for.

Their doorbell rang as they were getting ready for the first round of gatherings. "I'll get it!" Phil called and ran to the door. There was no one there when he opened it but two packages were sat on the doorstep. One was a box, the other in a large cushioned envelope. Phil picked them up and weighed them in his hand. "Dan!" he returned to the hall. When he saw Dan pop his head out of his room he tossed the package addressed to Philip Lester to him. "Our jumpers are here. That one should be yours."

Dan took the proffered envelope and retreated to his room to change. He had no clue what Phil had bought for him. "Oh no," he groaned when he saw it. It was karma for joking about Phil's outfit in the Dil Christmas Special. His jumper had a headless elf across the the front, complete with dangling plush arms and legs. The elf's collar matched with the main collar of the jumper (why did it have to have a collar, it's a jumper!) making Dan's head obviously the head of the elf. The back was as plain as possible considering the design. The whole thing was vertical red and green stripes with the elf dressed in horizontal red and green and white zig zags. It was an affront to the eyes.

Phil had trouble putting his on. He suddenly understood why it was in a box, the thing stood up on its own! The 360 degree design also had Phil stumped as to which side was front and back. What felt like actual branches were sticking out all around it, larger at the bottom and smaller at top to give the impression of a Christmas tree. Each branch had some bell or bauble or ornament. Along the bottom of the tree there were plushy presents. It even had a hood that turned Phil's head into a star with weird points sticking out from the tops of his head, where the tops of his ears were, and the sides of his chin.

They met back in the lounge, each feeling like they got the worst yet best end of the deal. "Well, we definitely meet the criteria for the party," Phil said. He used his phone to snap a few selfies of them. "Ugly Christmas jumpers achieved!"

Dan smirked. Phil's jumper looked exactly like he had hoped when he saw it online. "But Phil," he stepped forward with a look that cause Phil to retreat. "You didn't finish yours."

"I'm scared to ask what that means." Phil was backed into a corner by Dan. 

Dan reached under the branches on Phil's left side. He let out a soft "ah ha!" after a minute of groping. Suddenly Phil's jumper was illuminated by tiny lights woven between the needles. "What's a Christmas tree without lights?"

Phil shook his head incredulously, "I hate you so much."

"Thanks, love." Dan pulled his phone out. "If that's the case maybe I should cancel that taxi I called and we can just take the Tube to Google. Nice trip to show off your gorgeous jumper."

Phil ground his teeth but said nothing. Instead he went to the kitchen to make sure their bread was packaged to take with them.

Maybe the Tube would have been a better idea after all, despite the public humiliation it could cause. Sitting in a taxi proved near impossible for Phil. His jumper made him huge and he couldn't fit in the seat. Not to mention the branches were scratching every surface of the car they touched. In great discomfort they made it to the creator space.

They were the last of their group to arrive. They set the bread on a table next to several trays of cookies and a platter of cupcakes. With great pride they saw that their dessert was the first thing to vanish. Clearly it was a hit.

Primarily they hung out with PJ and Tom for the time they were at Google. Neither Dan nor Phil brought their cameras. The thought of forced collabs didn't really appeal to them. It was more fun to just see everybody and have time to talk.

A few people asked them to pop into their videos. They voiced a two headed character in one of PJ's new stop motion videos. Phil was asked into Carrie's video. She hadn't planned on filming one but she did an impromptu cover of "Oh, Christmas tree" in honour of his jumper. Meanwhile Dan filmed a tipsy talk with Hazel. It was a fun video, but it meant he was already several steps towards drunk before they even made it to the main party.

The big Christmas party was put on in the ballroom of a hotel a few blocks away. They were driven over from the creator space in limos. Thankfully they were a bit roomier than a taxi so Phil fit this time. 

After initial mingling and obligatory hellos to everyone they knew Dan and Phil retreated to the shadows. Alcohol was flowing freely and glasses were on tables all around the room. It only took a few drinks before Dan was starting to feel the effects. Phil stopped himself on the upper end of tipsy so he had enough wits about them to keep Dan in check.

They talked to a few people more at the party but mainly stuck together. It was clearly more of a mixer for creators that don't see each other often. Tossing a couple extroverts into a party packed with introverts and ambiverts did not make everyone else immediately social butterflies. The whole event had a forced quality to it.

Suffice to say the two stayed long enough to be seen and have pictures taken. They left as soon as it was socially acceptable.

Not thinking clearly enough to call a cab, they navigated their own way home. Phil was oddly glad for how crowded it was. It made their strange apparel less of an attraction. It took longer than it should have, but eventually they made it home.

Back in the flat they were exhausted. The first thing they did was strip off their jumpers. Phil was shivering. While too bulky to allow him to wear a coat, Phil's jumper wasn't very warm.

Dan wrapped Phil in a tight embrace under the pretense of warming him up. In reality, he'd been itching to get his hands of Phil since the party started. Alcohol always made him touchy feely but Phil's jumper prevented that, something Dan didn't consider when he bought it. But the jumpers were on the floor now and he was free to wrap himself around Phil's bare chest. He himself was wearing a t-shirt buy Phil apparently didn't think to wear one underneath.

Phil wasn't fooled for a second. He knew exactly why Dan was being clingy and strangely he was okay with that. "Why don't you go change and meet me in my room?"

"Hmmm," Dan hummed against Phil's shoulder. "And what am I changing into?" He nipped Phil's collar bone causing him to shudder.

"Pyjamas," Phil had to force himself to be firm. _Dan's drunk,_ he reminded himself, _he doesn't actually want this_. "Let's watch a little _Fairy Tail_ before bed. We still haven't finished the Tartaros arc."

Dan pouted. "Do we get to cuddle at least?" he asked.

Phil couldn't help himself from trailing his hand down Dan's chest. Even through the shirt he could feel Dan's heart beating. "Of course."

That was all the encouragement Dan needed. He ripped off his jeans and pulled on pyjama bottoms. After a second of hesitation he tossed off his shirt was well. While he always slept shirtless he normally kept on at least a t-shirt when he and Phil had late night binge watching sessions. He picked up his laptop and headed to Phil's room.

Phil was already in bed, waiting. His eyes popped when he saw Dan's naked chest. For a moment he regretted putting a shirt back on himself. But, he reasoned, it would make things less awkward in the morning this way. He patted the bed next to him.

For over an hour they cuddled and watched anime on Dan's laptop in Phil's bed. It wasn't often that they watched shows in bed, but it was comfier than the sofa in the lounge. Phil's head was also a little foggy was the alcohol on Dan's breath reminded him what was causing this. He wasn't actually tempted to kiss Dan, run his fingers through his hair, pull him close and never let him go. It was just the drink talking.

Phil fell asleep first, head resting on Dan's chest. Dan turned off the computer and tried to move as little as possible as he stretched to set it on the night stand. He  snuggled against Phil. Most nights he'd return to his own bed. But it would be rude to wake Phil up when he was sleeping so peacefully. Yep, that was the reason Dan used to spend the night with Phil. He knew Phil wouldn't question it, he never did.


	23. Chapter 23

23rd December

 

Christmas eve eve was fairly calm in the flat. Much of the day was spent perfecting the last two gamingmas videos and setting them up to automatically upload. As fun as the month had been with all that it was a relief to be done.

Too tired to cook, they munched on take away pizza for dinner. The amount of kitchen roll piling up next to the computers was depressing. But they couldn't let their greasy fingers all over their keys.

"Done!" Phil announced, sliding away from the computer. He rubbed his eyes under his glasses, happy he had the forethought to swap his contacts out. "Time for bed!"

Dan glanced at the clock on the screen. "Half nine is a little early, don't you think?"

Phil yawned convincingly. "I'll need to pack in the morning. My train back north leaves at noon remember?"

Dan facepalmed. He hadn't remembered at all. Of course, he knew Phil was going home for Christmas. He just kind of forgot that Christmas was only two days away, despite the rush with the gaming videos. He never paused to put two and two together.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning." Dan moved over to take Phil's place at the computer. He was going to get one more quick pass through the edits before setting it to render and upload. "Good night.

Phil smiled, "Good night."

Dan went back to work as soon as Phil left. Rewatching the finished videos to make sure they were perfect wasn't a labour intensive task, but Dan found it difficult all the same. He loved the work they did together, and even though he knew all the jokes he was laughing. Still, he never was completely comfortable watching himself on screen.

Right as Dan was finishing up he thought he heard something in the hall. For a brief second panic seized him. Demons, monsters, and small Asian children all popped into his head as possible intruders. Then logic took hold and reminded him that Phil was still home and that was probably him heading to the bathroom or something.

About an hour after Phil went to bed Dan retired as well. As he entered his room a splash of colour on the floor caught his attention. _Phil's stocking!_ He had almost forgotten!

Since Phil wasn't going to be here for Christmas they were going to swap presents tomorrow instead. Dan had meant to fill the stocking so there would be something Phil could open with Dan there to see.

Frustrated with himself for forgetting Dan jumped to it. He worked like a whirlwind. Tiny presents were wrapped in paper, everything looking a bit like a lump of coal in Dan's haste. He loaded the stocking right up to the top, thankful he at least had all the stuffers ready to go.

Once he was content with his work, he creeped back into the hall. He moved quietly past Phil's room to the lounge. He wasn't sure if Phil had fallen back to sleep yet and he wanted the stocking to be a surprise. He tiptoed into the lounge to put the full stocking under the tree... And saw his own already sitting there. Leaning against a present was a bright red stocking with _Daniel_ embroidered along the top. Much like the one he was holding, that one also looked near overflowing with little goodies. Phil was a step ahead of him the whole way through.

"So much for a surprise," he grumbled under his breath. Dan set Phil's stocking next to his own. He arranged them against the presents so they were standing upright. They didn't have a chimney to hang them by, so under the tree would have to work.

Dan's face lit up like the tree seeing his and Phil's names next to each other. They belonged there. For a moment Dan was overwhelmed with just how much Phil meant to him. Memories of all the things they'd gone through over the years flooded his mind. It amazed him that they made it this far together, but he knew he'd never have made it to this point in his life without Phil by his side. At the end of memory lane he gave himself a little shake and reminded himself it was time for bed.

A little distracted he walked back down the hall. A few steps from his room he felt something close around his waist. He tried to spring forward in fear but the grip tightened, holding him in place. A scream escaped his lips, drowning the sound of laughter.

"Oh would you calm down!"

Dan whipped his head around and saw it was Phil holding him. "If I'd known you were going to play Santa tonight I would have left out cookies for you," Phil joked. 

Dan was vaguely aware he went on to talk about how Dan's resemblance to Saint Nick could use some work but his heartbeat was roaring in his ears still making it hard to focus. When he finally pulled himself together, Phil was looking at him expectantly. "I'm sorry," Dan shook his head. "Still recovering from the heart attack you gave me," he accused. "What were you saying?"

"I asked," Phil rocked on the balls of his feet, suddenly looking nervous, "if you wanted to sleep with me again tonight. I mean, like, share the bed with me. Again. Like last night." The words tumbled out of his mouth.

"Oh," Dan was taken aback but pleasantly surprised. "Sure, no problem." He looked a little closer at Phil and saw small red rings around his eyes. "Is everything alright?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Everything's fine." Phil led Dan into his room and climbed into bed. He pulled back the duvet for Dan to join him

Dan took a moment to strip off his shirt before getting into bed. He made himself comfortable but kept some distance between them. "Phil, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Phil insisted, moving closer.

Dan put a hand between them to stop him. "No cuddles until I know what's up."

"Dan, really," Phil sounded exasperated, but Dan thought he caught a slight hint of panic as well. "I'm fine. I swear I'm just tired." Dan raised an eyebrow, waiting for more. Phil cautiously moved forward and Dan allowed him to snuggle against him but stopped himself from snuggling back. "I sleep better with you here," Phil admitted. "It's calming."

Dan didn't ask why Phil needed to be calmed. Getting a good night's sleep was a solid enough reason for Dan to stay. He wrapped his arm around him and pulled Phil's head against his chest. The sound of Phil's heartbeat always calmed Dan when he was upset so he thought maybe it would work in reverse.

"Good night. Again," Phil mumbled into Dan's skin.

"Good night. Get some sleep."


	24. Chapter 24

24th December

 

"It's Christmas Eve! It's Christmas Eve!" Phil's voice rang in Dan's ears, waking him abruptly. "Come on," he bounced up and down on his knees, shaking the bed and tumbling Dan out of the warmth of Phil's blankets. "It's time to open our stockings!"

Dan groaned and laid his head back on the pillow. "If you're going for 'annoying child on Christmas morning' you nailed it perfectly."

Phil laughed and continued to shake him. "Are you going to keep me waiting all morning?"

Dan threw an arm over his eyes and pretended to go back to sleep. "Yes."

Phil swung his leg over his friend's body. He bent down, stratling Dan, nearly sitting on his stomach. "You're going to get up, or I'm going to make you." He voice was playful, but the threat was still there.

"Oh?" Dan lowered his arm. "How are you planning to pull that off?"

In a flash Phil dropped down. His upper body was flush against Dan and his legs wrapped underneath Dan's knees. With a jerk of his shoulders and hips he had them flipped over so Dan was laying on top of him. Dan was so shocked Phil could only smirk. "How do you like the view from up there?"

Dan raised an eyebrow. Two could play that game. He let himself lay down against Phil and pressed his lips against the hollow of his neck. He trailed his mouth up Phil's collar bone. "And how exactly is this encouraging me to get _out_ of bed.

Phil squirmed uncomfortably. He bit his lip, trying to think until Dan looked up at him. Phil let his face smooth over to hide what he was thinking. "Well, we could go with your idea," he reached his hand up between their torsos and Dan pulled back slightly, allowing Phil to trail his fingers over Dan's bare chest. "But I still like my plan better." With his palm pressing flat against Dan's chest and his leg twisted between Dan's once again he spun and pushed. Dan was flipped right off the bed and landed hard on his back on the floor.

He coughed to catch his breath again. "That wasn't very nice." He went to move and cringed, reaching up to rub the back of his head.

Phil laughed but promised Dan he'd bring him ice. He stopped in the lounge to grab the stockings on his way back from getting a bag of frozen peas in place of an ice pack. When he returned Dan was sitting up, leaning his back and head against the bed, legs extended in front of him.

Phil lowered himself to the floor next to him and grabbed a random shirt to wrap around the peas. "Here," he gently leant Dan's head forward and placed the ice pack behind it. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I'm sorry," he hung his head in shame.

"I know," Dan rearranged the bag as Phil placed their stockings between them. "Any chance your kisses are magic too?" He asked wistfully.

"Let's find out." Phil moved his legs apart and half lifted Dan's torso as Dan shifted over to sit in Phil's lap. Phil wrapped an arm around his chest and pressed kisses to the back of his head. Then he placed the shirt wrapped bag on his shoulder and had Dan lean against it. "I don't know about my kisses, but my cuddles have healing powers."

Dan snuggled back against him. "They certainly do." He sat there with his eyes closed for a few minutes until his headache dulled. Either Phil _was_ magic or Dan was getting used to the pain because he was pretty sure the "ice pack" was useless. "So," he waved his hand lazily in the direction of the stockings. "I'm assuming those are why you insisted I woke up. Are we going to open them or just keep them around as decoration?"

"Well they do add a lot to the decor..." Phil pretended to consider for moment. Then he reached over and placed Dan's in his lap and left his own against his left side since Dan was taking up his lap space.

Dan opened his first. As none of the items were wrapped it took him very little time to empty the stocking and create a pile of small gifts next to their legs. The pile included a pack of playing cards, candy canes, a new Calcifer plushy with watching Turnip Head plushy, a chocolate orange, a container of dry shampoo, assorted boiled sweets, and a Fitbit.

"That's an expensive stocking stuffer," Dan pointed out, immediately attacking the plastic encasing it so he could try it out. "Thank you!"

Phil chuckled and watched him struggle. Once he had it opened Dan put it on his wrist, getting a feel for it before setting it up. Phil gave him a little squeeze. "Consider it one of your actual presents," he said. "It just fit so well in the stocking and was too small to wrap properly for Christmas."

"Deal." Dan admired it for another moment before nudging Phil's stocking closer. "You won't find anything that fancy in yours but I hope you like it."

Phil would have liked it even if it were full of coal, because Dan went out of his way to try to make it special. Each item was wrapped, albeit poorly, but it showed that Dan put effort into it. He unwrapped each small gift and separated it from the paper. In the end he had a small pile of presents to his left and a rather large collection of crumpled wrappings to his right next to Dan's presents.

Dan was correct, Phil's were nothing fancy. Yet they made him smile as he placed them one by one back into the stocking for safekeeping. First went his new coffee mug which he wrapped in a pair of festive fuzzy socks. Then came two more pairs of fun socks, one showing some of his favourite Studio Ghibli characters and the other had a pair of (of all things) hedgehogs stitched into them. Then came a package of good ol' English Breakfast that was probably the fanciest part of the stocking; Phil was looking forward to a cuppa. Lastly Phil sprinkled in the various kinds of sweets and chocolates that Dan bought for him to fill up the rest of the space.

Phil gathered the wrapping up into a ball and tossed it into the bin. He missed, naturally, but he'd deal with that later. Dan gathered up his own gifts and put them back into his stocking. All except for the Fitbit that he kept on his wrist. Phil lifted his own stocking and set it on the bed being him.

"Thank you." Phil kissed Dan on the cheek before helping him up.

"You're welcome." Dan wrapped him in a hug.

"Am I forgiven for tossing you out of bed this morning?" Phil asked as he handed Dan his stocking.

Dan took it and stepped backwards towards the door. "Of course," he laughed then bit his lip. "I kind of deserved it for fooling you around like that."

Phil shrugged it off. He dragged his suitcase out from under his bed so he could start packing. "It was nothing I hadn't heard from you before."

"Fair," Dan gave Phil a smile and headed to the door. "I'll let you pack."

Since the stockings took way longer than Phil anticipated he barely finished packing in time. With just a minute to spare he zipped up his bag. "Dan, I'm leaving!" Phil called as he rushed to the door.

"Wait!" Dan yelled, running up to him from the lounge. He pressed a wrapped box under Phil's unoccupied arm. "You can't forget your present!"

His smile melted Dan's heart. "Thank you. I'll call in the morning after we have breakfast and we can open them together."

"Sounds like a deal."


	25. Chapter 25

25th December

 

Dan woke up at an unreasonably early hour to catch a train home to his parents' house outside Reading. The train was packed with people like him. Everyone was dressed either super festive or very fancy for the holidays. And everyone had way too much luggage with them.

He doubted anyone really needed all that space for themselves on Christmas morning. Likely their bags were like his, full of presents. To avoid conflict Dan kept his bags on his lap the whole ride. Yes it was uncomfortable but it eliminated the rude comments about taking up too much space that everyone else was getting. It also kept his bags from being damaged.

He happily made it to the station closest to his house with both his bag and his sanity intact. It took him a while of walking around before he found his dad waving and calling to him. With a hug and a "Happy Christmas" he followed his father back to the car and headed home.

Once in his parents' house he went to the sitting room immediately to add his presents to the pile under the tree. Then began the catch up period with the family. There was much to catch up on, everyone had some stories to share. Dan didn't have the same excuse Phil did not to see his family often, he only lived less than an hour away.

Dan's mum was talking about an estranged family member who wouldn't be joining them. Dan was trying hard to appear to be paying attention while his brother played on his phone. Maybe he'd heard this before.

Dan's phone rang with a Skype call, interrupting her story.

"That your boyfriend?" Adrian asked without looking up from his phone.

Dan bit back his comment. With an apologetic look at his parents he answered the phone. "Good morning," he said as Phil's face appeared.

"Happy Christmas, Phil!" Dan's mum didn't seem to mind being interrupted.

Phil waved as Dan turned his phone so he could see everybody. "Merry Christmas everyone!" The family waved back.

Mrs. Howell was smiling even more than Phil. She ushered Adrian and her husband out of the room, "We'll leave you two alone for a while," she winked at her son. "Remember the rest of the family is arriving in an hour or so."

Dan waited until the door shut and he was sitting alone. Then he spun the phone back around to look at Phil. "Good morning," he repeated.

"I miss your family! They're so nice to me."

Dan rolled his eyes. It would be hard for any decent person to be mean to Phil, he was too sweet. "Well Adrian insists we're dating, if not engaged by now. So he can't be too mean to his future brother in law."

Phil laughed in surprise. "Did he say something?"

"I believe his words were something along the lines of 'your boyfriend's calling'."

"Well your parents don't seem to mind." Phil's head shot up. His eyes furrowed at something Dan couldn't see and he nodded in that direction. Then he turned his attention back to Dan. "I have to help cook dinner soon. So let's get a move on." Phil shifted his phone and tilted it down to his lap where Dan recognised the presents he bought. "Present time!"

"Just a sec." Dan went down the hall to the sitting room where the tree was. He nodded to his dad and shifted around the presents until he had the ones labeled to him from Phil. He heard Phil start to say something and told him to hold on. He went upstairs to the spare bedroom and settled onto the bed. "Okay, _now_ it's present time."

"You first," they said in unison

"Hey," Dan pressed his advantage as Phil paused to laugh. "I opened my stocking first yesterday. Now it's your turn."

To help Phil out on his travels Dan had put all the presents into one large gift bag. The bag was extremely heavy he thought. When Phil pulled them out he had four boxes of various sizes. "How much did you get me?" Phil asked in amazement.

"Come on, you got me four presents too when you count the Fitbit."

Phil conceded the point. He started with the smallest and lightest box. Inside was a new wallet. Phil's old one had fallen in half and even at its best never looked as good as this one. "Very solid start," he said by way of thanks.

As Dan laughed Phil tried to find a way to hold the phone so Dan could see him open the rest. He slid from the sofa to the floor and used the sofa to prop up his phone. Not the best solution but it would have to work.

Next he picked up a flat present that was quite heavy for its size. He tore the wrapping off and his mouth dropped. Dan had bought him a two and a half kilo bar of chocolate. Belgian chocolate at that.

"You're trying to make me fat," Phil accused, thinking of all the sweets from his stocking that Dan gave him as well.

"I'd just like a little cushion when we cuddle. Besides, you're more than welcome to share."

Phil opened a corner and snapped off a bite. As it melted in his mouth he moaned. "This is heaven and I will not be sharing." They both laughed.

"The rest all go together," Dan said as Phil turned his attention to the other two boxes. "Start with the thin one."

Phil removed the wrapping and was greeted with a paint kit. Not a professional one, definitely more fit for a primary school student. He turned the phone so Dan could see his face.

"Just open the next one."

The last box was the largest and was also heavy. Phil struggled to rip through the tape. He gave up and left the phone sit there as he ran to the kitchen for a knife. He cut the box open and saw nothing but bubble wrap. Phil moved aside the padding and instantly saw why it was needed.

The box held three clay pots. They were all a greyish white which explained the paint. Dan wanted him to be able to decorate them how he wanted. Two of the pots were large and round. The other was rectangular shaped like a trough.

Inside the larger pots were bags of soil which explained the weight. The shallow one held seeds.

Phil picked up the seed packets to examine them. Some of the packets were herbs and a few were vegetables. They all had instructions for how to pot them so they'd grow best. Dan had given Phil the ability to try his green thumb out on an indoor garden. Likely he'd kill everything but it would be a fun venture.

"They're adorable," Phil couldn't stop smiling. He knew Dan wasn't a huge fan of his house plant obsession but this was a wonderful compromise. "You're going to have to help me paint the pots."

Dan agreed and said it might make for a good LessAmazingPhil video. Phil considered and honestly thought it would be good enough for the main channel. He couldn't be happier. "Thank you for all of this."

Dan knew Phil was going to like his gifts but it was a relief to see him happy nonetheless. Now the nerves were gone and it was his turn to enjoy opening presents. First he held his left wrist in front of his face. "I got this working last night so present number one is definitely appreciated."

"I'm glad. You seemed so intent on that run a few weeks ago I knew you were missing it. I hoped this would help give you your spark back."

"So what you're saying is I need to get back in shape?" Dan joked. He ignored Phil's sputters telling him that he looked fine. Instead he placed the presents on his lap and used the headboard and some pillows as a makeshift tripod so Phil could see both the presents and his face.

He tackled the topmost present first, one of two solid rectangles we was fairly certain were books. Sure enough tearing off the wrapping revealed _Dreamsongs: volume II._ "Fifty pounds says the next present is volume I." He flashed Phil a smile and ripped open the other book. They were both beautiful hardback covered books, and both had a maroon half-sleeve cover. "No," his eyes shot open, "No way!"

Phil nodded towards the books. "Why don't you open them and see."

Gingerly Dan opened the front cover. Seeing nothing he turned to the dedication page and sure enough; George R. R. Martin. The other book at the same signature, with an added note to enjoy the stories. He hadn't heard much about these books but if Martin wrote them they had to be good. Plus they were signed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I was shocked to see them at Hatchard's. I had to get them for you." Phil shuffled and Dan overheard a 'we love him too but you need to hurry it up' coming from Dan guessed Phil's brother. Phil winced at the phone, "Oops, I'm in trouble." Then he smiled, "That was the better part of the present. You opened them out of order."

Dan rolled his eyes. Order didn't matter, the presents were still the same. The bottom package proved to be a new jacket. It was slim, but felt like it would hold in heat well. "Perfect for running," he said, smirking at the phone. He lifted it off the pillows and brought it back towards his face. "You really do want me to be fit, don't you?"

Phil gave him a wink (that was actually more of a blink) and a "maybe."

They both thanked each other once again for their gifts. Phil apologised but he needed to go. "I'll see you tomorrow. I should be home mid afternoon, I forget when my train leaves."

"See you when you get home," Dan said. "And enjoy the rest of your time with your family. Tell them 'hi' for me."

"I will."

With an exchange of goodbyes, they ended the call. Dan wrapped his books in the jacket. As he put the bed back together he heard the doorbell ring. His extended family had arrived; time for Christmas dinner.


	26. Chapter 26

26th December

 

Phil was meant to be home by late afternoon, but of course holiday travel was never that easy. The train before his derailed on the track, leaving delays for over an hour. And then the train Phil was meant to take was so packed Phil and some other solo passengers were asked to wait for the next one. He agreed, being too sweet to refuse, but the wait for the next train would put him another hour behind. Not to mention he wasn't sure how delayed they were on the tracks.

As soon as his original train left without him he changed course. Since the station messed with who was and wasn't on the train they gave Phil a refund for his ticket. He decided to take a bus back to London. Yes, it was a long ride, but the next bus left in five minutes and the next train was over an hour away. He took his luck with the bus.

He shot Dan a text warning him he'd be late. Dan simply wished him luck and added "try not to get stabbed," followed by an array of smiley faces. Such a nice, caring best friend he was.

The bus was gross and the ride long. He took up as much space as possible with his bags so he wouldn't have to interact with people. That tactic worked at least. The only benefit to the bus was that there weren't many people on it. He put his ear buds in and listened to music, ticking away the minutes until he was home.

Phil arrived home around half eight that night, a solid three almost four hours later than planned. He trudged up to his room, murmuring a low "hullo" to Dan as he passed the sitting room. He'd had a long walk from the bus station, arms piled high with boxes. When he set them down in his room he collapsed to the bed completely exhausted. He would have been content to close his eyes and sleep until the new year. But his growling stomach had other ideas.

"Dan," he groaned, knowing Dan would be able to hear him. "Do we have food?"

In the quiet flat he heard the creak of a sofa as Dan got up. When he arrived at the door he said, "Not really. I was thinking we'd go out to a pub. Get some drinks and have food we don't have to cook."

Phil shook his head. "That sounds great except for the pub part. I'm not really up for leaving the flat." He had been traveling most of the day. Now that he was back he just wanted to relax at home.

Dan nodded in understanding. "I'll figure something out. Will you survive for a little while?" 

"No, I'll waste away to nothing." 

Dan looked around the room. His eyes landed on Phil's stocking. Reaching over he pulled out a handful of sweets and tossed them onto Phil's stomach. 

Phil glanced down, "Alright," he said, "you've bought yourself some time." He rolled one of the boiled sweets out of its wrapper and popped it in his mouth.

Dan decided to walk down the block and get a takeaway chips and curry. It was a strange mix but they found the place when they first moved here. They both loved it. Hopefully it would be just the thing to make Phil feel better.

When he got back to the flat he went directly to the kitchen. If Phil really wanted to forget about his day it was going to take more than food to help him relax.

Dan poured them each a large glass of wine, having been gifted a few bottles for Christmas. He didn't think he came off as an alcoholic but judging by his gifts that's how his extended family saw him. He took a sip of the meiomi and realised he shouldn't complain.

"Phil, get your lazy butt in here if you want food."

Phil materialised at the door. "I thought you'd never get back." His eyes fell on the bag and he licked his lips. Sure Christmas dinner yesterday had been delicious, what with his family slaving over it for hours. But really, you couldn't beat takeaway curry.

They relaxed in the sitting room. Rick and Morty was on in the background but they weren't paying it much attention. Phil was too focused on his food and Dan was too focused on Phil. He watched as Phil carefully dipped each chip in the curry before eating it. Dan as always opted to pour his curry over top the chips and eat them with a fork. Either way, it took alarmingly little time to finish their food.

They drank as much as they ate. Thankfully the chips and curry combo was heavy enough to alleviate the sick feeling that came with drinking too much. Not that either of them were overdoing it. It was just nice to split a bottle of wine... or two... with a friend. 

Relaxing.

They relaxed their way right over to Dan's room once the food and drink was gone. It was a bit of a stumble, neither boy was remotely steady on his feet. They swayed where they stopped at the edge of the bed.

Dan pulled Phil into his bed, the bottle of wine in his belly making him bold. "Why don't we ever stay in my room?" Dan asked as he ran his fingers over the material of Phil's shirt.

It had been years since the last time they'd stayed together in Dan's room. It hadn't happened since Manchester. Even in their drunk state Phil remembered that and remembered why. "Because you tend to want to do more than just sleep when we're in your bed." What Phil _couldn't_ remember was why exactly that was a bad thing.

"Oh it's not like we'd do anything we didn't want to." Dan's hands had made their way under Phil's shirt. He raised his arms and lifted his horse enough for Dan to slip it over his head and toss it to the floor.

Phil leaned in for a kiss. He couldn't taste the wine on Dan's tongue, evidence that his mouth was just as saturated. Dan's shirt ended up on the floor sometime before the next kiss.

Phil was needy for more. He kissed Dan's lips, trailed his lips down to kiss his neck, then down further to nip at his collar bone. In the meantime his hands were undoing the botton and zipper of Dan's jeans. They wouldn't be needing those to sleep.

Once he was down to just his boxers and socks Dan lifted Phil's face back up to his lips. Phil kept trying to go further and Dan continued to redirect his kisses. His own hands were busy keeping Phil's off his body.

"You'll regret it in the morning," Dan said against Phil's lips and Phil removed his own jeans.

"No," he breathed. "I just want to sleep with you."

At that point Dan wasn't sure which meaning Phil was going for. But there was only one that could be allowed to happen. He broke off the kisses, "Then let's get to sleep." With that he slipped off the bed.

"Where are you going?" Phil asked, propping himself up on an elbow.

He reached out and gave Phil's hand a squeeze. "To the loo. I'll be back."

Phil watched him leave but he wasn't attentive for long. The wine dragged him to sleep within a minute or two of Dan being gone. He came back with pills and water for them for the morning and set them on the nightstand next to Phil. He knew they'd both remember this in the morning. What he wondered was whether Phil would still think the same thing in the morning. Or would he even own up to remembering what he said?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, I caught up! I hope everyone's been having a good holiday season. 5 more chapters


	27. Chapter 27

27th December

 

There was surprisingly little awkwardness in the air after last night. Dan had woken up before Phil. By the time the older man got his lazy bum out of bed Dan was well situated in the lounge with a strong cup of coffee. Phil spun around and grabbed his own cup from the kitchen. Dan joined him.

"About last night," Dan started but Phil, being mid sip, held up a hand to cut him off.

He lowered the coffee cup and reached out to take Dan by the shoulder. "I'm sorry." He held Dan's gaze. "I'm not sure where I would have taken that but I'm glad you stopped it."

Dan was shocked for a moment, he'd expected Phil to feign ignorance. He mumbled about how o course he wouldn't let them do anything stupid while drunk. But he couldn't help but remember those were their first real kisses in years, as opposed to these friendly cheek kisses. There was actual passion behind those kisses, he was sure of it.

Phil squeezed Dan's shoulder in time with that thought, giving the impression he knew what was on Dan's mind. His eyes had a sadness behind them that Dan felt didn't belong in his friends eyes. "It doesn't count when we're drunk," he said.

"What doesn't?"

"Any of it," Phil shrugged. "Yes, last night happened. But that doesn't mean it counts." He removed his hand from Dan's arm. With one more chug he drained his coffee. Then, to Dan's surprise, he wrapped him in a hug. "Thank you for taking care of us. Last night and this morning."

Dan hugged back, his confusion from Phil's earlier comment melting away. "Back to real life then?"

Phil nodded. "Back to real life." He rinsed his mug in the sink and then grinned at Dan. "And speaking of, I have an idea for this afternoon."

It had been a while since Phil did one of his live shows, what with being busy or sick the previous weeks. Dan missed his on boxing day as well. Since they had nothing planned for the day, both tweeted out that they would be doing a joint holiday live show that evening. 

When the time came they decided to settle into the sofa in the lounge. The wintery decorations were still up and it set the scene nicely. Admittedly though, they were going to have to take down the tree soon or it would just stay up forever.

They decided to use Dan's account as his laptop was the one in the lounge at the time.

Phil started as he always did, by saying hello to as many people as possible by name. Dan humoured him by saying hello to a few people. Then he pressed on by asking how everyone's Christmas was. Or their non Christmassy holiday of choice. Or their month in general if they didn't celebrate anything and this wasn't a holiday season for them. It became long winded to be inclusive sometimes.

The chat was flooded with questions about the snowman competition and the snowball fight. There were dozens of comments on the Gamingmas videos. The overwhelming majority were demanding to talk about the Christmas radio show mistletoe kiss.

Dan and Phil glanced at each other and came to a silent agreement. Neither would mention the kiss as even they weren't sure what it meant. Let the viewers speculate, they were going to regardless of an explanation.

Dan laughed and read out several of the comments about all the videos they'd uploaded. "Gamingmas, a snowman competition, holiday baking, the radio show," he ticked them off on his fingers as he went, and then nudged Phil with his shoulder, "we've certainly had a lot going on this month."

They launched into discussion about various parts of their month. They both agreed the snowball fight was the most fun, even if it did almost result in Phil dying. They saw all the "awe that's so cute" comments in the chat when Dan talked about nursing Phil back to health.

"No," Dan said. "It wasn't cute, it was a pain."

"Oh you lov- liked having the flat to yourself while I was bedridden" Phil stumbled trying to cover. Saying _oh you love me_ may be true but Dan would probably strangle him if he said it on a live show.

Dan rolled his eyes and returned to the chat. "So what fun things have you all been up to this month?"

Their eyes tried to keep up with the onslaught of information. Christmas parties, snow fort building, skiing, ice skating competitions, and taking a polar plunge were some of the exciting ones.

"I want to go ice skating," Dan said when he saw that one. "There's a rink not too far from us and we've never been."

"Sounds fun," Phil agreed. "You are all very active for what's meant to be a relaxing month. Or stressful for some people."

"Yeah," Dan said. "How did you cope with the stress of the holidays? What did you do to unwind?"

Dan and Phil couldn't help but smile at the comments. They went on long tangents about movie marathons and sleeping the days away. It was both sad and funny to see the students complaining about upcoming exams. They didn't miss those days.

"So what else is there to talk about?" Dan asked the chat. Topics came flooding in.

"That's a great idea," Phil said in response to some comment he saw. He rolled off the sofa and bolted from the room saying he'd be right back.

Dan just deadpanned the webcam. "Do you see what I have to deal with every day?" After a waterfall of questions about where Phil went Dan started laughing. "He could be literally anywhere. I never know anymore. All I know is he'll be back." He ignored the shipping comments that sparked. Sure enough, Phil ran back in with a box of Sharpies and a large pad of paper he used to write video ideas on.

Dan flashed back to Phil's shows from a few years ago. "Is that for what I think it is?"

"Who remembers?" Phil plopped back down next to Dan and held the items up for the camera. His eyes scanned the chat waiting for it to catch up. "Sara got it first, you win a small dog. Yes! It's the drawing game!"

Phil ripped a page off his pad of paper and handed the pad to Dan. Then he scrambled off the sofa and grabbed a gameboard "truth bombs, get the expansion at danandphilshop .com" to use as a base to write on. He set the box of Sharpies between them so they could pick their favourites.

"This is a blast from the past," Dan said as he arranged himself to be able to draw without Phil or the audience seeing. The trick was staying in frame as Phil tried to do the same thing.

"Someone mentioned it but I didn't catch the name." He wiggled down into a sofa crease to get comfortable and ended up pressing his leg against Dan. Dan rescued the falling markers and balanced the box on their legs. "I was thinking," Phil continued as if nothing happened, "that we could do a holiday themed monster."

"Monster?"

"Oh they always ended up looking like monsters. Creature then. Better?"

Dan smiled, "Much."

Phil shook his head. "Alright if you want to play along at home all you need is something to write with and something to write on. We will give you... sixty seconds." They proceeded to mumble Christmas music, each going with a different song, until they felt like the time was up.

"Okay, Phil, would you please explain the drawing game for everyone at home who has never experienced it."

Phil held his hands in front of him, motioning with them as he explained. "I used to do this in my live shows for a few years but it's been a while since I retired it." The chat was full of people bragging about how they were the real fans because they remember. "Now, that's not an attitude I want to see! If you were around back then that's great, thank you for sticking around. But you should also be welcoming the new people."

Dan bit back a smile at Phil and tried to look stern towards the webcam. "Play nice everyone or we're ending the snow early."

Phil went on to explain that they all draw a monster (or creature) that has the same features. The chat would suggest features and Dan and Phil would pick which ones they should all draw. In the end they would show off their ridiculously different drawings and give it a name.

They jumped right into it. "What should the head be? Remember, everything needs to be holiday or winter themed." Phil leaned forward to see the rapidly moving chat, waiting for a comment to catch his eye. "A wreath! I like that. Draw a wreath on your page where you think the head should be."

On and on it went. Dan and Phil took turns calling out body parts and choosing from the options the viewers presented them with. The end result wasn't pretty, but hey, that was the point of the drawing game.

"I told you they were always monsters!" Phil said as he finished his last part of the drawing.

Dan couldn't argue. His was a mess. The poor thing had a wreath for a head, fairy lights as hair, baubles for eyes, elf ears, a garland smile, a Christmas tree body, snowman arms, and Santa hats for legs and feet. He didn't know what they created but it was actually not that abnormal for the drawing game.

"Don't we need to name them?" He asked.

"Yes, ready to show everyone first?"

Dan took a deep breath and turned his paper so everyone could see his disaster. Phil did the same. They gave the fans a moment to react before turning them so the other could see. Laughter was inevitable, they looked so different! Dan could hardly tell they were following the same instructions. Phil's somehow looked like it could actually exist. That took talent.

"What should we name them?" Phil asked everybody.

Most of the comments were holiday cliches. Phil kept getting drawn to puns off of Christmas songs. But Dan jumped up and started scrolling backwards through the chat. Phil gave him a look.

"Hang on I want to get the wording right." It took him a moment to find what he was looking for. "There it is. Thank you Gabby! 'Phil's looks cute but Dan's looks like Satan. Kinda like how you misspell Santa'," Dan read. He looked at Phil expectantly.

Phil looked incredulous. "We are _not_ calling a holiday themed drawing Satan."

"How about Lucifer?" Dan suggested. Phil adamantly shook his head. Frowning, Dan scanned the comments again. Fortunately they were now following his vein of thought. He saw the perfect one.

Turning to Phil so the webcam couldn't see his face, Dan mouthed, "You're so cute when you're angry." Phil looked flustered and Dan turned back and said "Krampus," right as Phil started laughing about his silent comment. The timing worked out perfectly in Dan's favour. It looked to everyone watching like Phil was smiling in disbelief at Dan's name suggestion, not at the fact that he called Phil cute.

Caught off guard it took Phil a second for that to sink in. "What?"

"We'll call him Krampus," Dan explained. "It's like to opposite of Santa. And it sounds nicer than Satan."

Realising what Dan did, Phil relented. He scrawled 'Krampus' across the top corner of his paper and held it up to the webcam. Dan followed his lead. Then Phil closed the show by asking everyone to tweet theirs at him so Dan could feel better about his. Dan gave him a little shove at that comment. For the last minute they said goodbye to people until the video cut off.

"You cheater!" Phil accused, immediately jumping off the sofa to put space between them.

"Oh come on," Dan said, cleaning up the markers and getting up as well. "The name fit."

"That's not the point," Phil bristled.

Dan stepped forward and had to hide his disappointment when Phil backed up a step. Instead he put on a smile, "But you did look cute."

Phil exhaled slowly, "That's not the point."

Dan took a moment to read the situation. Phil couldn't actually be that mad about being tricked. It wasn't like him. Something told Dan not to default respond by asking what the point was. Instead he dropped his eyes and let out a puff of air. "I'm sorry I upset you," Phil rolled his eyes and before he could butt in Dan continued. "Whatever I did, I didn't mean it to make you upset." Phil's eyes opened wide in shock and Dan held his arms open, an invitation to a hug. "Please don't be mad."

The frustration that had been building in Phil since the morning flooded out of him. He stepped into Dan's hug and pulled him close. "How could I stay mad at you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so late. For some reason I'm struggling with the formatting on the site. For those familiar with posting, it's not letting me use Rich Text so I have to do everything HTML which I'm bad at so it's taking me forever. I hope it gets fixed, if not expect spaced out updates. I'm trying!


	28. Chapter 28

 

 

28th December

 

 

"Phil, if you do not get your ass out this door in the next minute I am leaving without you," Dan was done with Phil's constant hold ups that afternoon. It was _Phil's_ idea to go ice skating, not his own. Like a parent talking to a child he started counting down from sixty.

Phil poked his head out of his room and laughed. He continued to take his time getting ready. There was a specific jacket that he couldn't find. He was starting to wonder if you left it at his parents' house when Dan stomped over to Phil's door.

"Come on, let's go!"

"Why are you so jumpy?" Phil asked. "It's not like we're going to be late." With one last searching look around the room, he gave up the hunt for his jacket. He opted for a puffy coat and mittens instead. "Okay, I'm ready."

Dan walked back to the door without comment. He readjusted the fit of the jacket Phil got him for Christmas. He'd be a little cool until they started skating but overall it felt really nice. And it looked amazing. If only he were as confident about the skating as he was in his clothes.

They took a bus over to the ice rink. The whole ride was in silence. Dan was pretending he was still mad at Phil. Phil wasn't phased. He knew the real reason was that Dan was nervous. As to the why of it, Phil wasn't sure.

When they arrived at the rink, Dan took a breath to steady himself. They walked into the building at the front to get skates. It took Dan several attempts to lace his up.

Phil nodded with understanding and went back up to the counter. "Sorry, would you happen to have instructors for beginners?"

The guy glanced over at the bench where Dan was struggling. A smile crossed his face, "Your boyfriend's first time skating?"

Phil bit back the impulse to explain their relationship. If their own families thought they were dating, he guessed he couldn't fault a stranger for thinking it. It was what it was. "I'm not sure, but I know he's nervous."

He nodded and motioned to a girl who was handing out skates. She finished up and walked over. "Can I help you?" She looked back and forth between Phil and her coworker.

"Are you free to be an instructor for a little while?"

She smiled a Phil, "First time?"

Phil shook his head. "Not me." He nodded over to where Dan was finally finishing up with his skates. The girl nodded and said it would be no problem. Phil pressed on, "He didn't ask for an instructor and he hasn't said it's his first time. So, could you act like this was planned or at least not a special case?"

She instantly stood up straighter, "But it's not a special case. We provide instructors for anyone we haven't seen at the rink before. Safety precaution." She winked at Phil.

"That'll work," he said. Then he went to join Dan and put his own skates on.

It didn't take too long for them to be ready to go. They rose in unison, both a little wobbly on their feet. The girl waved them over to the door and they followed her out. It was a short walk, but the skates made it feel much longer.

"Are you both doing okay?" She asked, looking right at Dan despite her question addressing the two of them.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He pulled off the bravado fairly well. Only a slight red tinge appearing along his jaw gave any indication he was uncomfortable.

They exited the building and saw a beautiful outdoor ice rink. Railing went around the entire outside. Several families with young kids were already on the ice, along with a few couples. The instructor led them to one of the gaps in the railing.

She was speaking about how to start out, but Phil ignored her. He knew how to skate, at least well enough not to fall. His focus was entirely on Dan.

Right before stepping out into the ice, Dan linked his arm with Phil's. The instructor smiled when she saw and gave Phil a smile, "Looks like your friend is more nervous than he was letting on."

"Hey," Dan grumbled as the other two laughed, "if I go down you're going down with me." He used their joke as an opportunity to pull Phil even closer to him as they stepped into the rink.

Locked together, Dan relied on Phil to keep himself standing. The instructor helped them make a few laps around the edge of the rink. She had Dan use his free hand to hold the railing where it was available.

After about three trips around the ice she brought them into the center where there was nothing keeping them on their feet but each other. She showed them a few moves, how to go faster, how to stop, how to spin without overturning and ending up on their bums.

"Do you think you get it?" She asked them.

Dan nodded and Phil assured her that they would be alright. She nodded and wished them luck. "I'll be around if you need me," She promised before skating off to check in with one of the families.

Phil closed his eyes and took a deep breath before unlinking his arm from Dan's. He felt Dan stiffen next to him but kept his breathing steady as he reached down and took Dan's gloved hand in his own. He squeezed Dan's hand, assuring him that he was still right there.

For a few seconds they two just stood there. Then Dan took the plunge, shooting forward and dragging Phil behind him, squeezing tight. They couldn't properly interlock their fingers, what with Phil's hands in mittens.

A peel of laughter escaped Phil as he trailed after Dan. They made it about thirty seconds before Dan lost his balance and fell to the ice. He slid for about a metre, dragging Phil down with him.

Dan tried to get up. Several times. But he just couldn't get his footing in the skates. Much to Phil's apparent delight Dan ended up scooting all the way over to the edge so he could use the railing to pull himself up. It took Phil a minute, but he managed to find his feet on his own.

Dan clung to the railing until Phil skated over. "Having fun?" Phil asked.

Dan's face was pink with cold and he was rubbing the arm he landed on. Despite that, he smiled. "Actually, yeah." He held his hand out to Phil. When Phil took it Dan said, "You get to lead this time. Try not to land us on the ice."

The whole experience lasted about two hours before Dan declared he was simply too cold to keep going. They never worked themselves up to anything fancy. Skating around the rink, holding hands and talking was enough excitement for Dan after the fall. Shivering and red with cold, they wobbled back to the building to exchange their skates for shoes.

The guy behind the counter winked at Phil when he brought the skates back up. "You two heading home to warm up?"

Phil bit his lips to keep from smiling. "We're not dating."

The man took the skates with a smirk. "If you say so. I certainly don't have any mates I could hang onto for that long. You looked pretty cozy." Phil shook his head, still trying to contain his smile. "Any more dates planned?"

Phil relented. "I'm taking him out to dinner tomorrow night," he admitted. It felt weird to tell a stranger before telling Dan.

"Good luck." With that he took their skates and left the counter to put them back where they belong.

"What were you chatting about?" Dan asked when Phil walked back over to him.

"Oh, he just wondered how our date went," Phil said with a casual tone he didn't feel.

Dan linked arms with Phil and dropped his head onto his shoulder. "I hope you told him it was great," Dan said as he led them out the door and back to the flat.


	29. Chapter 29

29th December

 

Dan kept turning in front of the mirror, trying to analyse himself from different angles. No matter what he did, he kept thinking he looked like he was about to host a reward show. Ever since working with the BBC he just couldn't look at fancy clothes without thinking of work.

But tonight this outfit was for leisure. Phil decided to spring a surprise five star dinner date on him about two hours before their reservation. Apparently it was Martyn's Christmas present to the two of them.

Dan had plenty of fancy clothes and he knew they all looked nice on him. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that Phil wasn't even trying to pretend this wasn't a date. Sometimes they just hung out when they went out and other times they went on what felt like real dates.

But this was the first time in years that either of them had named it a date. Dinner at a crazy posh restaurant, just the two of them. What else could it be?

Dan's nerves stopped him from noticing Phil's. Phil was bouncing on the balls of his feet in the lounge. He ran his hands repeatedly down his sides, smoothing non existent wrinkles and drying the sweat off them. He was the one who brought this anxiety down on both of them, he knew that. But he sincerely hoped it was worth it by the end of the night.

Dan joined him a few minutes later. When Phil got a good look at him he let out a low whistle without thinking. Dan burst out into laughter and the tension broke.

"Let's go crash the restaurant," Dan said with a smile. Judging by past experiences, posh places just weren't for them. They'd yet to get through one fancy meal without one or both of them making fools of themselves.

Phil offered his arm to Dan. "Off we go," he said once Dan linked his arm through.

A car was waiting for them outside the flat. A man got out when he saw them coming and held the door open for them.

"Martyn really did think of everything," Phil sounded amazed as he crawled into the back seat.

"Well," Dan slid into his seat a bit more gracefully, "you're brother does love me."

Phil nudged him. "He loves _us_." Then he lapsed into silence and watched the streets to see if he could map out where they were heading.

_Huh, us,_ Dan thought. He liked the sound of that. _Us._ They'd been a definite 'us' on a professional level for years. And on a friendship level as well of course. But maybe they were ready to apply it to another level of their relationship as well.

They arrived at the restaurant on their mouths dropped. It was along the bank of the river Thames, with the side facing the water made entirely of glass and a gold lattice work. There was no posted dress code, but as the wait staff was dressed nicer than most people on their wedding day Dan and Phil were glad they went with their best suits.

Two doormen held open the set of kissing glass doors at the entrance. When the boys walked through they were greeted by a pretty woman in a dazzling black dress. "Name please."

"Uh, Lester," Phil tried not to stutter as he hooked arms with Dan once again. He said this was a date, he refused to be ashamed of it.

She scanned her plan of the dining room until she spotted their name. She motioned and a men came over to take them to their table. They were nestled in a little alcove by the glass wall on the second story. The view of London was beautiful, even if it was limited. It had just started to snow lightly outside but it was pleasantly warm in the restaurant. No chill seemed to make it through the glass, for which Dan and Phil were thankful.

The menu was placed before both of them and the waiter vanished from sight. Nothing had any indication of a price tag on it, but Martyn had assured them they could order as much of whatever they liked.

As fancy as the place was, Dan and Phil had relatively simple taste. When it looked like they'd decided the waiter materialised by their side. Water was poured for each of them as the man awaited their order. Dan ordered a salad to start, and Phil a soup.

They chatted quietly about their holiday with their families, having never fully talked about it. Something about the atmosphere of the restaurant kept their tones hushed. They found themselves leaning across the table to hear each other better.

The waiter returned to see them nearly out of their seats, their faces only a few inches from each other. "Misters Lester, your first course," he announced. They sprang apart and sat straight as a board as he placed their food in front of them.  Then in the middle of the table he set a pail of ice, with a bottle of white wine. To either side he placed a long stemmed glass. He poured them both two thirds full and replaced the bottle on ice to await them. Then he vanished again without another word.

"Misters Lester," Dan repeated once they were alone. Phil shuffled and took a spoon of soup to occupy himself. Dan smiled softly, "I like the sound of that."

Once they started talking again they found themselves gravitating forward. This time their food prevented them from hovering over the table. Phil reached across the table to take Dan's hand. He was glad Dan was left handed, it meant they could hold each other and both still eat comfortably. They only let go to take the occasional sip of wine.

Once their food was finished their empty dishes were whisked away immediately. The menus were returned so they could order the main course. Phil ordered a pasta dish and Dan a plate that supposedly contained twenty five varieties of potatoes. He was excited to try it. In the meantime they sipped and their wine and talked about how well received the gaming videos had been this month.

The main course followed much like the first. The boys found themselves having to sit back up to allow the food to be placed between them. The empty wine bottle was removed as were their dirty glasses. In their place the waiter set two wider glasses with shorter stems. He poured each half full of a bright red wine and again set the bottle on the table.

"We're going to be drunk by the time we leave, aren't we?" Dan asked, going straight for the wine this time.

"Probably," Phil said. Though admittedly they were given plenty of time between courses and excellent food. They may have been drinking in excess, but it was being metabolised quite well.

It took embarrassingly little time for them to finish their plates. The dishes vanished again and once they ordered dessert they were left alone. Phil reached out and took Dan's left hand as well. The half empty bottle of red lay between their arms.

"Remind me again why we don't have nights like this more often."

Dan smiled and rubbed his thumbs against the backs of Phil's hands. "Because your brother can afford it as a present and we couldn't afford it at all."

"Ah," Phil took another drink and let the corners of his mouth twitch up. "I knew there was a reason."

After a dessert of chocolate and fruit tarts with a glass of port each they were ready to head home. With full stomachs and tipsy heads they stood and their chairs were instantly moved for them to walk away without obstacle. The wait staff here was nothing if not impressive. Dan took Phil's offered arm and allowed his date to lead him out of the dining room.

Down in the main entrance, the same hostess who greeted them was waiting to send them on their way. "Have a good night, Misters Lester," she said giving them a brilliant smile. "I hope you enjoyed yourselves."

They both agreed that they did. Outside the cold air hurried them to the waiting car.

They got back to the flat and made it into the hallway between their bedrooms before they wavered. Dan still had Phil's hand and if given his way he wouldn't have let go of it any time soon. But Phil remembered their half drunk night earlier this week. He wasn't anxious for a repeat.

Phil extended his fingers and wiggled them to get Dan to drop his hand. Undeterred, Dan stepped closer. "I had a really good time tonight, Phil. Thank you."

Phil gulped. "You're welcome." Dan was getting way too close. Phil teetered on the edge of giving him what he wanted. Honestly, Phil wanted it too. But then the alcohol on Dan's breath reached him and he chickened out. "Goodnight, Dan." Phil gave him a hug and retreated to his room. He shut the door behind him, effectively ending their night together.

Dan sighed. He had hoped that after their date Phil would act like they had actually _been_ on a date. He really thought at the very least that Phil was going to kiss him. 

Dan trudged to his room and threw himself into his bed. He lay there, tears prickling his eyes for a few minutes. Feeling pathetic he undressed and crawled under the blankets. He knew three things for sure. One: he liked Phil. Two: Phil liked him. After tonight he was sure of that one. Three: if he wanted Phil to admit it, he'd have to be the one to take that dive first. 


	30. Chapter 30

30th December

 

With gamingmas thankfully over they expected to take a little break from the gaming channel. All those videos really drained them. Not to mention they were completely out of ideas. Well... almost.

"No," Dan grumbled.

"Please?" Phil bounced on his knees looking pleadingly at him.

"No. Not happening."

Phil scooted closer across the sofa on his knees. "Come on, please!"

Dan rolled his eyes. "The puppy dog face isn't going to work today." Dan needed a break from trying to build up their romantic relationship. He knew that spending a few hours filming and editing a gaming video with Phil was only going to serve to add more awkwardness.

But all Phil could think about was a good video opportunity and the chance to spend time with Dan. If there was tension in the air, Dan was the only one who felt it. "But it'll be cute and today would be our last chance to film it."

"We could definitely film it any time in the next month."

"But it's a New Year new house video!"

"Exactly. So shouldn't we wait until it's actually the new year? And besides," Dan pointed out, "they just got a new house this summer. Who needs to update that quickly?"

Phil laughed. "We're talking about a game that rolls out a new update or expansion every other month."

Dan continued to argue against it until Phil pulled out a low blow. "Fine," Phil stood up and began to leave the room. "I'll find a game to film by myself then."

Dan deflated. "No," he sighed and launched himself off the sofa, "Let's go play the Sims."

"Dan, we're not going to film a video if you're grumpy. The fans always pick up on it."

He bit back his irritation. Dan couldn't explain why Phil was frustrating him so much today. He hadn't done anything out of character but it was driving Dan up the wall. He'd love to work the problem out but he wasn't even sure what it was.

Dan put his hands up in surrender. "I'll be good. Just let me get a cup of coffee while you set it up."

Phil bounced forward and hugged him. "Thank you!" And then ran off to the gaming room.

Dan could not process his weirdness sometimes. As he made himself a coffee he debated whether or not to use this time with Phil to talk or make a move. He knew after last night that he'd have to be the one to do it. Phil clearly was too nervous.

But Dan didn't want to do something just to do it. He wanted the moment to be right. To be special. And he didn't feel like hanging out in the flat or filming a Dil video was the time or place to kick off a relationship.

When he made it into the room he found Phil fixing up everyone's needs. "Why do we always leave them dying?" Phil asked when can sat down.

Dan shrugged and helped Phil sort everybody out before they filmed the opener to the video. "That's right everybody. A complete. House. Redesign." Dan said, accentuating each word by making slashing motions with his arms. For dramatic effect of course.

Phil put his arm out in front of Dan and looked at the camera. "Now before we start this, I think we need to get something out there." He looked at Dan who just smirked and nodded for Phil to go on. There was always some ridiculous twist whenever Phil had an idea for a Dil video. Dan was expecting it. "Right," Phil continued, "we've redecorated and we've changed the house a couple times, but it's still the same house." Dan's eyes got huge when he saw where Phil was going. "So I was thinking..." he looked around for effect, "it's new years. They deserve a brand new house."

Dan acted out his incredulous part perfectly. Phil explained that he thought they should stay in the same neighbourhood and keep their plot of land but delete their house and build a new one from scratch.

"But there's so many memories in this house," Dan insisted. "Our family's happy here."

"They'll be happy in a new home! We'll build them a good one." 

When that didn't work he tried for logic. "We don't have the money to replace all this stuff."

"We don't have to!" Phil proceeded to empty all of their worldly possessions out onto the garden. About half way through the process he ran out of room. Dan started laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You know, Sims _do_ have an inventory function."

Phil mumbled under his breath. Once everything was cleaned out and safe in the inventory Phil told everyone to get ready. Before Dan could stop him Phil deleted one of the outside walls. A few clicks later and the roof disappeared along with that section of wall.

Dan gasped. He grabbed Phil by the shoulders and shook him. "The owl slide! You killed the owl slide!"

Phil promised they could put an owl slide on the new house if Dan wanted. As soon as everything was deleted their family was left standing on an empty lot. Phil unpaused the game. Everyone freaked out for a minute, but then they all had to leave. The boys went to school and Dil and Tabs went to work. Only the puppy was left and curled up at the edge of the lot, waiting for the people to come back.

"Okay, we have plenty of money and a clean slate to work with." Phil placed the mouse between them. "I was thinking that this time we design it freestyle. No buying premade rooms."

Dan watched as Phil made the outside perimeter of the house. He couldn't help but smile that Phil made sure there was an odd number of spaces so the front door could be symmetrical. But there was one problem. "That's way smaller than the house you just destroyed."

"Just trust me." 

Dan sat back and let Phil put up a few walls on the inside of the house. Dan guessed he saw a kitchen, a lounge, a bathroom, and an extra room. Definitely not enough space for their family. "Phil... It's still too small. Our family needs more space." 

"That's because..." Phil moved to the centre of the house across from the from entrance. With a few clicks he had a staircase ready. "We're making a two story house!"

Dan jumped with excitement, rattling his chair. He pushed Phil out of the way and took control of the mouse. He explained to Phil and to the camera that since Phil destroyed everything and took it upon himself to make the outside, he should get to design the interior. Phil agreed, provided he still had some say.

He made six rooms upstairs. A bedroom for Dil and Tabitha complete with a master bathroom took up the most space. Then came a bathroom for the kids to share and three equally sized bedrooms.

"Planning on having guests over?"

"Well, our family might grow," Dan said defensively. "And in the meantime the dog can have that room."

It took them well over two hours to design the house and replace all of their furniture and appliances. They had to wait for Dil and Tabitha to get home from work to have enough money to finish putting in symmetrical windows. 

They decided to leave the full reveal until the next video. This one was way too long. They were already going to have to speed up or skip most of the footage.  After a quick sign off and reminder to check out any of the gamingmas videos anyone may have missed they turned the game off and relaxed.

Phil turned to Dan once everything was shut down. "Been thinking about our family a lot?"

"What?"

"You kept saying 'our family' in the video. How it needs more space. How it might grow. How much you want it to be happy."

"Yeah..." Dan raised an eyebrow at him.

Phil patted Dan's shoulder. "You used to say 'Dil's family'. Now it's 'our family'. So, been thinking about that?"

Dan hesitated before giving the honest answer. "Yeah, I have."

"Me too." Phil's voice was soft. He squeezed Dan's shoulder and walked out if the room.

Dan let him go. It was clear he needed time to think. But Dan was pretty sure he knew how he was going to make that move.


	31. Chapter 31

31st December

 

Parties were much more fun when they were small. Or at least when the boys actually knew and mostly liked everyone there. Felix and Marzia sent out invites to about twenty or so people for a New Year's Eve party at their home.

Dan and Phil were crammed on the packed evening train down to Brighton. They had debating going earlier and making a day out of the trip, but decided against it. lnstead they were going to crash at PJ's afterwards and go home to London the next day. Depending on when they woke up and the weather, they could enjoy themselves in the new year.

It wasn't until they arrived in Brighton that they hit their first hurdle. They got off the train and exited the station out onto the street. Then they headed in different directions. "Um, isn't their house this way?" Phil asked.

"I thought-" Dan pointed the direction he started walking. They moved back together and against the wall of the building to get out of the wind. "Let's look it up." Dan pulled out his phone.

"Good idea," Phil said.

"Do you remember the address?"

Phil facepalmed and took out his phone as well. "I'll call him, hold on." The phone rang a few times to no answer. Phil hung up once the machine kicked in.

"I'll try PJ." Dan had more success. Their friend answered and having laughing at them for their idiocy for a minute he gave them directions.

They followed what PJ said, walking a path neither of them had started with. "Brighton really is pretty," Dan said after a few minutes.

Phil nodded in agreement. Then he moved closer to Dan and linked their arms. It was a bit riskier in a still sunny evening in Brighton than it was on a dark street in London. Still, Phil felt the closeness was worth the risk. Dan must have agreed as he made no move to pull away.

Even with directions they managed to get turned around a few times. And it was a much farther walk than they realised. By the times they arrived at the front door they were numb with cold. Inside, the party was already in full swing. 

They rang the doorbell. Marzia answered in a fuzzy white jumper and leggings. She had a glowing smile as she ushered them inside and gave them both a hug, despite their frozen bodies.

People were hanging out in little groups around the house. She led them over to the fireplace to warm up. Emma was sitting by the fire, no doubt she'd just been talking to Marzia before the bell rang. She gave Dan and Phil a shy smile and excused herself to the kitchen.

Marzia played the roll of gracious hostess very well. She took their coats from them to hang in the hall and made them sit in the chairs before the fire. "Stay here until you're all warmed up. There's good food in the kitchen and snacks and drinks in the lounge."

They thanked her and she told them she'd let Felix know they'd arrived. For a few moments they each sat in their own arm chair bathing in the warmth. Then Dan decided he needed to work himself up to that big move. Phil linking their arms on the walk over had been a good start. But it wasn't enough.

Dan rose from his chair and instead sat on the arm of Phil's. He placed one arm around Phil's shoulders and the other across his chest. His cheek he pressed to the top of Phil's head.

"What are you doing?" Phil laughed as Dan's curly hair tickled his forehead.

"Warming us up faster so we can join the party."

Phil jerked to the side, pulling Dan off the arm of the chair and into his lap. Dan's head slipped to Phil's shoulder instead. "Why would you want to join the party faster when you could stay here with me instead?"

Dan looked up and was startled. Phil's face was only an inch or two from his own. His eyes found Phil's lips. They were right there... He bit his bottom lip for a second and then decided to go for it. He leaned forward and Phil didn't lean back.

"There you two are!"

Dan shot out of the chair so fast he tripped over a table and almost ended up in the fire. Instead he found himself on the floor next to it, with a small black pug enthusiastically licking his face. "Edgar, stop it," he tried uselessly to push the dog away.

Their host scooped the dog up with one hand and cradled him against his chest. "You two sure seem toasty enough to join the rest of us." Felix looked back and forth between the two of them when they didn't say anything. He had meant that jokingly but seeing both of them turning red he wondered what he'd interrupted. To spare them, he pretended not to notice and invited them to come play cards.

Once Dan regained a bit of dignity Phil helped him off the floor. They followed Felix into the lounge where PJ and a few other guys had a game of Resistance in progress.

"Perfect timing," Dave said when they sat down. He dealt them into the next round.

They'd played once before back at Vidcon with Cat, but it had been a while. The game worked best if you could read peoples faces well. Or if you knew your friends tells. Felix had the clear advantage as he was the only one who knew everyone else at the table.

They snacked as the games went on. Everyone else was sipping at drinks but Dan and Phil abstained. Too much alcohol this week as it was.

Sure enough, Felix was on the winning side in all but one of the rounds. "Alright," PJ cut in after several more rounds. "Time to change to a more fair game."

Everyone agreed. Felix pulled out Cards Against Humanities. The groups switched up. A few people left to go raid the kitchen and Marzia and Sofie joined them. Marzia vlogged bits and pieces of the game, explaining she's going to make some sort of video out of all the day's footage.

They played until the winner had ten cards. Somehow Phil won with Marzia right on his heels. Sofie was only two cards lower. Dan, PJ, and Felix all finished with less than five. 

"How?" Felix demanded to know. "How did the sweet, innocent one win for each of us?"

"That's always how it works," Phil joked. "You never suspect us."

With only a few minutes left until midnight they cleared up the game. In a break in the conversation everyone heard Phil's stomach rumble. Everyone laughed but Marzia, who pouted. "I guess my snacks weren't very filling. There should still be food in the kitchen."

"I'll come with you," Dan said.

They found the kitchen empty. Everyone must have been gathering in the lounge or the main room to count down until 2018. Blessedly, there was still plenty of food. Phil picked around at a few things but didn't grab anything.

"What's wrong?" Dan put an arm around his waist. "I know you're hungry."

"I guess," Phil lingered over a plate of cookies. "I just don't feel like eating."

"Come on guys, the countdown's starting!" PJ called from the other room.

Phil went to join them but Dan pulled him closer. "Your stomach full of butterflies too?"

Phil didn't know what to say as their friends voices, counting down from sixty, drifted through the wall. He took a deep breath and wrapped his arm around Dan as well. "Maybe. What- what are we going to do about it?"

"I guess we'll have to let the butterflies out."

Right as they heard their friends reach the number one, Dan pulled Phil into their first real, sober kiss.

  
  
  


 

1st January

 

The kiss was deep and passionate. They would have held each other forever... But it was interrupted after maybe half a minute by the sound of a sharp inhale. Their heads whipped around. There was their hostess standing in the doorway, vlogging camera pointed directly at them. The deep blush told them she got a decent chunk of that kiss on film.

"I'm sorry!" Marzia looked mortified and lowered her camera. "I'll delete that part, I promise." She fidgeted with the camera to bring up that part of the footage. Shyly she glanced up at them through her eyelashes, unsure how upset they were with her. "I also promise not to tell Felix."

Dan and Phil locked eyes. Were they really about to do this? A nod from Dan and a smile from Phil was all the confirmation they needed.

"You won't need to hide it from him," Phil said. "We'll tell him."

Marzia eyed both of them. She was about to open her mouth when Dan placed his hand over hers on her camera. "We'll let you be the one to tell the internet though."

Her eyes were huge. "Your fans would kill me."

Phil chuckled. "No, they'll thank you."

Dan nodded and removed his hand. "Just let us know when you're uploading it so we can tweet it out too. Let everyone know there's a little surprise in there."

"That is," Phil butted in, "if you don't mind us hijacking your New Year's video."

She knew the comments would be a disaster but she agreed. "One condition: you tell everybody at the party before you go home with Peej. I don't want anyone thinking I forced you into this."

"Deal," they said in unison. Then Dan asked if they could have a minute alone. Marzia gave them her most charming smile and said she'd get everyone gathered up so they would only have to make one announcement.

Dan took Phil's hand. "Are you ready for this?"

"Kiss me again," Phil said. Dan obliged with a shorter kiss than the first, but no less passionate. When they broke apart Phil pursed his lips and tilted his head, as if considering it. "Yeah," he darted in and gave Dan a quick peck, "I'm definitely ready for this."

With hands as intertwined as their lives they walked together to the main room to tell their friends the news. They would be taking on 2018 with their hearts just as tightly woven together.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 2018 everyone! Thank you for joining me for this story all month, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
